Upheaval
by Easarix
Summary: Resting at N. Sanity Island, Crash is living his ordinary life until a new enemy, ordered by Dr. Neo Cortex, is coming on the way to annihilate him: a female spy, who's apparently a bandicoot just like him. However, will the two eventually befriend each other for Cortex's doom, or has everything already been planned in advance?
1. New Insanity

**Chapter 1**

The spaceship couldn't have been anymore hectic. The more the scientist was about to give an excuse, the more he was about to give to the short-tempered mask a tantrum. The convention was full of allies that they could fill the enormous table that was formerly empty for hours inside the base, and now this time they had wasted all the sorts of justification to give to their boss in regards to their recent failed strategies.

"You fools!" Uka Uka began scolding. "Idiots! Morons! Nincompoops!" And a few more he called furthermore. "Can't you mutton-heads do anything right?! I'm tired of seeing that bandicoot escaping with life through your brainless, pathetic plans! Or are you planning to get rid of him off the Earth in fifty years?!"

"Uka Uka!" Dr. Neo Cortex was despairingly attempting to convince him otherwise. "I tell you, it's _not_ our fault! It's that stupid mutt who always arranges a way to save himself!"

"Shut up, Cortex!" He ordered, furious. "I'm tired of your shallow excuses, and everyone else's! I already had lost my patience but this time I'm really getting into the abyss if nobody has the intelligence to finish that rat!"

"Pff, like if he is a piece of cake." Dr. Nefarious Tropy remarked as he rolled his eyes at the wall.

"Apparently he's even smarter than you!" He retorted to him.

"Please Uka Uka, we tried everything!" Doctor N. Gin urged. "We even tried nuclear bombs and nothing!"

"Like if nuclear bombs were the solution to blow up his ass!" He snapped.

"Uka, please." Cortex insisted as he placed his palm on his forehead. "It's not easy as you think."

"Of course it isn't easy!" He sneered. "With you idiots with a Q.I. under 5 I'd doubt if it was easy!"

"Why don't you you tell him that then?" Dingodile uttered impatiently as he pointed at Tiny. "He's the only one who has a low Q.I.!"

"Tiny is sad..." He lowered his ears upon his protest.

"I would've annihilated him with my tommy gun if my girlfriend wasn't so softie about it." Pinstripe avowed.

"Then you're a sissy!" Uka Uka shouted at the brown potoroo, and turned to Koala Kong. "What about you, Kong?"

"He destroyed the mine and all the boulders I've left, sir." He stated.

"Pathetic." He confessed, disappointed. "So in conclusion _all_ of you have failed miserably?"

"Well, yeah..." Dr. Cortex somewhat agreed. "But it still isn't our fault."

"Oh really?" His anger started increasing again. "Who you blame now, Cortex? The clown?"

"You guys are _so_ impracticable." A female voice spoke out in the middle of the darkness just in the moment the two males have eventually exchanged an instant of silence. She wasn't still noticeable, but there she was standing with her arms folded as she was straightly inspecting such an importunate circumstance. Uka Uka turned himself to where he believed that the unknown voice has come, surprised.

"Who are you?" He demanded. Cortex seemed the only one who haven't been affected by the sudden visitation, and smirked.

"Looks like you haven't met Amelia yet, Uka Uka." He proclaimed as he crossed his fingers in satisfaction, glancing at the expected young woman as she approached further the convention room. But what made their faces go stunned wasn't really the fact that she was dressed into a seductive black and silver spy outfit - but the fact that she, herself, was also a bandicoot, excepting that she had a long and thin tail which would distinguish her from every other they have seen before.

"She's a _bandicoot_?" The mask almost loosened a gasp. "Cortex, what's the meaning of this?"

"Oh, she's not from the same breed." The evil scientist explained, keeping peaceful. "She is an expert spy I've hired from the military, but she also has a current residency in this spaceship due to a contract I did with her father. More to stop sending 'waste' to his homeland, he says."

"And this was your plan up your sleeve?" He asked him, still not pleased with his new scheme.

"Since you're always grumbling around that I and my allies don't do anything _worth_, this new agent will do the job for me in return of money to keep her living here."

"So technically you're replacing your laziness and failure aptness into another obsolete plan?"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, master." Cortex smirked wider. "She was trained and prepared to kill anyone she captures, thus, our aussie hero will be murdered in a jiff."

"And I'll finally have a break from all of you!" Uka Uka added in disbelief as he flew to the bandicootess and studied her around. "I'm even surprised that you used your square brain for once, despite I'm nevertheless unreliable about your cognizance. But, I'll provide my trust to this new spy of yours to take care of that filthy marsupial."

"My word, Uka Uka, you won't regret it." The scientist assured with a vicious smile.

"Meh, and I thought myself that he hated bandicoots..." N. Tropy gave another remark without any kind of admiration.

"Very well, Cortex." The mask glared at him in the eye. "I do _verily_ hope this one works, or else, you'll end up in the ice age like last time." He warned.

"That would be epic." Dingodile snickered, but Cortex turned to him to shut his mouth.

"When is gonna be my next launch to the Bandicoot's house, Cortex?" Amelia demanded impatiently as she became annoyed of being stagnant, making him to rub his hands in perfect anxiety.

"Right away, my dear."


	2. The Unforeseeable Meeting

**Chapter 2**

The night was remarkably peaceful. The entire N. Sanity Island was quiet, which even the jungle was in a perfect muteness as the full moon was naturally shining through the dark sky. Almost all the wild animals were already sleeping excepting the nocturnal ones, although some of them were beginning to get satiated as the small house that located near them was becoming a complete muddle coming out from the living room. And, like if they even didn't need to guess, it was the own Crash and Crunch Bandicoots who were playing _Mortal Kombat_ like two lunatics.

"Hah, I'm going to win you!" The burgundy bandicoot teased while he wasn't releasing his controller.

"Go dreamin'!" The orange bandicoot teased in turn with a silly smirk. "Do you think that Scorpion is that weak as your Subzero?"

"Weak?! Dude, yours will be a mashed potato in an instant." He sneered as he grasped the controller and clicked several buttons simultaneously.

"I really want to see that." He grinned.

"You wanna bet with me?" He glared at him. "Pleasure's mine."

"Bring it on."

Suddenly, the small TV turned off and the game went off, leaving to the two male bandicoots with the evidence that their blonde sister was standing there with the cable in her hand, this time looking at them with a tedious face.

"Aww, Coco!" They moaned.

"Guys, do you have _any_ idea of what time is it?" She persisted with an unfriendly expression. "For crying out loud, it's 3 AM!"

"So?" Crash furrowed his eyebrow.

"I'm trying to sleep." She folded her arms, annoyed. "And listening to your loud punches and kicks give me a headache, so please do me a favor and both of you go to bed _now_." Coco ended the conversation as she dropped the cable onto the floor and turned her back to return to her bedroom.

"Man. She's getting worse." Crunch remarked with a heavy sigh.

"What would you expect from her?" He began yawning as he stretched his arms upwards. "Thinking better, I'm going to bed. We can finish our battle tomorrow."

"Yeah, like we have a choice." He added unimpressively as he walked towards the stairs along with him. "On a side note, do you think that the square head is up to something at the moment?"

"Oh, him?" Crash raised his eyebrow. "Nah. Probably he's getting Uka Uka's sermons, as usual."

"Hah, that idiot truly deserves them." Crunch snickered upon his thought. "Remember when we defeated him once and tossed him to a circus next door?"

"That was one of the best days." The aussie bandicoot chuckled. "Too bad his head was too big to fit into the lion's mouth, though."

"I bet it would've been tasty."

"Hmm-hmm." He nodded as he stepped closer to his room and placed a hand on its knob. "Good night, Crunch." Crash finished as he closed the door.

"Good night, shorty." He also closed his.

* * *

><p>Arriving to the destined house, the marsupial spy eventually put her feet onto the fresh grass as she tip-toed silently and leaned to the white walls. She cannot fail this mission. Her whole muzzle was covered, and since she also knew precisely where her next victim was sleeping, this couldn't have been more than an easier game. Slim and short, the bandicootess launched a rope to the chimney and climbed it, finally achieving the roof as her hazel eyes shone with the full moon's luminance. Nobody in that area was witnessing her presence, therefore it was a lucky night to start with.<p>

Localizing the window, the black spy picked a mini laser she had saved occasionally and 'drew' a circle on the windowpane, resulting into a round hole sufficiently wide to let her enter directly into the bedroom. The first sight she saw from it she thought she was about to get sick - it was a complete mess. Nevertheless, the bandicootess shook her head as she heard his loud and irritanting snoring, and continued walking through the room this time with another destination on achieving the hero's bed to accomplish her quiet murder.

Stopping straightly in front of the asleep bandicoot, the spy picked her razor and raised it upwards, preparing to cut off the aussie's thick neck into his throat.

"Sweet dreams." She smirked maliciously in a low voice.

But, in the moment she was about to stick the razor, something was standing behind her foot and she stumbled it, leaving her with almost no time to realize that she did fall abruptly into the floor and made a huge noise, which for her mischance it woke up the orange bandicoot in a dumbfounded way.

"Huh?" Despite that he was jumpy, his eyes were still half closed. "Who's there?" He lifted up his head to glance around.

"(Damn.)" The spy cussed to herself as she attempted to find somewhere else to hide her visibility.

Suspicious of being unanswered, Crash rose up from his bed and began wandering his room, trying to find what or who has caused that din. "Hello?" He asked aloud. "Is anybody there?" He urged.

However, the spy was still studying his motions, planning to attack him when the time was right.

"Perhaps it was just my imagination." He shrugged as he turned his back, but the bandicootess wasn't about to let that apart.

"Over here." She spoke out.

Startled by the sudden shout, Crash immediately turned his head as an individual appeared to him no more or less with the razor pointing at his neck, also seizing him as she squeezed his chest with her arm. Caught by surprise, the aussie bandicoot got alarmed at the unknown face and hit her into the stomach with his other arm, making her to screech a faint _Oww!_ as she released him.

"You jerk!" She yelled with disgust, still grasping the razor in her hand. By looking at her expression she was mad, and by her physical appearence it could be clearly seen that she was a female.

"Who are you?" He demanded with a severe tone.

"Somebody who wants to get rid of your stupid *ss!" She retorted as she threw the razor at his direction, which for his luck he could escape from it as he merely diverted his head and the own razor ending up sticking the wall. This girl really had issues.

"What's your problem?!" He demanded again as he was getting further tense. "I don't even know you anywhere!"

"Just shut up and let me annihilate you for once and for all!" She persisted.

Running towards her foe, Crash defended himself as he rolled through the floor and stood up behind the spy, knocking her down as he gave a brief punch on her muzzle since he wasn't taught to hit a lady-type enemy. But as soon as he did, her face got full uncovered and it could be shown that her fur was black and her eyes a true hazel, despite that she wasn't very happy on being defeated.

"You're..." He narrowed his brow while glaring at her closely. "...a bandicoot?"

Suddenly, several recognizable voices were hearkened from the outside and the bandicootess momentarily fled away, leaving Crash to bear the last witness of the female spy as he watched her getting off from the window.

"Hey!" He shouted as she exchanged a final gaze at him. "Wait!" He ran to her, but she was already gone.

Panting, Coco, Crunch and Aku Aku eventually arrived to the aussie bandicoot's bedroom without having any idea from their strained minds of what had actually happened.

"Crash!" His sister called him as she despairingly hugged him. "Big brother, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"My saint stars, what the fudge happened here?" Crunch inquired exaltedly as he stared around the almost destroyed room.

"I'm okay, Coco." Crash assured her. "But there's someone who attempted to murder me."

"Who?" The spirited mask asked as he furrowed his wooden eyebrows.

"I don't know her name." He confessed. "But I noticed that she had a N on her belt."

This immediately clarified them all.

"Cortex."


	3. Seized In Jolt

**Chapter 3**

"Amelia!" The evil scientist yelled, completely out of frustration. The female bandicoot was just arriving into the convention room, which for her dull amusement she saw all the same villain folk reunited around the large table, waiting for her personal coming. She sighed not only because she has failed her first mission on working there and for being reckless of her most expert abilities, but because she had now to endure that stupid doctor's complaints.

"Amelia! How come you not have rid of that filthy animal yet?! I demand a reasonable explanation!" He grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Cortex." She replied, though that she was somewhat pissed of hearing his voice. "I almost had succeeded my plan, but I have unwittingly stumbled."

"Well then I hope you don't stumble next time!" He retorted. "I'll give you a second chance, but remember, one more mistake and you'll be kicked outta here with no food or money. Understood?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, sir."

"Good girl. I barely can wait to see that useless hero as a dead rat." He finished, and just in the moment he turned his back to her, Amelia showed her tongue at him and left.

"Having problems with women, Cortex?" Dr. Nefarious Tropy snickered in tease.

"I'm starting to guess that this whole 'new brilliant plan' of yours is gonna end _really_ bad." Uka Uka spoke in menace. Dr. Cortex gulped nervously at his statement.

"H-hey, she's still new here, so don't you think it's better to give her a little more time? At least she's smarter than most allies I've had so far." He tried to convince the mask as he exchanged a fake yet a huge smile, despite that he also made all the other guys huff towards his last sentence.

"I'm already giving you too much than I should have Cortex, so don't abuse." He glared at the scientist. "Furthermore, I've decided that if she fails more this time, you're also going with her."

"_What?_" His eyes went wide. "But master, you can't do that!"

"Yes, I can!" He shouted back. "And when I mean it, it's for eternity! How can I arrange my revenge to my twin brother if I always have a futile, oh-so-called-scientist who is an incapacitated to even kill a fly?! Huh?!"

"B-bu-but, things will getting better!" Cortex despairingly assured.

"When? In 50 years, like I've stated?"

"No! Soon! I-I mean, real soon."

"Then began counting your days, Cortex. 'Cause the one who will become a pile of trash at the end, it's you." Uka Uka finished harshly as he flew away from him, while the rest of everybody glanced at the short scientist with mischievous expressions on wishing to settle his fate upon their hands.

"Oh Mother, help me..." He prayed in an almost soundless voice.

* * *

><p>"Crash? Are you verily, <em>truly<em> sure you're okay?" The blonde bandicootess kept urging to her brother with preoccupation after the incident from last night. At the moment it was occurring like a typical afternoon, but knowing that the entire family was in risk on being assassinated, there was no rest in regards to question after question.

"Coco, for the millionth time, I'm alive." He reassured, a bit annoyed. "I survived, ok? Stop checking me."

"Now I'm afraid to sleep at night for fearing that lady spy cutting my neck." Crunch shuddered.

"Come on children, I know this seemed a little unforeseen and even maybe a bit traumatized, but we're already too accustomed on these situations." Aku Aku said.

"Accustomed?" Coco furrowed her brow, a bit snappy at his unexpected comment. "It's not every day that anyone reaches my brother's room and tries to cut down his throat, you know."

"His _throat_?" The muscular bandicoot gasped. "Tell me whatever you want, but I'm going to sleep with my teddy bear tonight."

"I know Coco, and you're right. I confess that I'm a little surprised that Cortex could arrange an expert spy, especially when it comes to a female."

"Maybe because he has thought she would give me a kill kiss and then move on. What an idiot." Crash sneered, but everyone looked at him like chuckleheads. "All right, seriously. She wasn't nice at all."

"If she dares once more to approach near my house _or_ my own family, she's toast." The blonde bandicootess ensured as she began preparing her karate skills. "And I mean it."

"Sadly Coco, I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon." Crunch added, unimpressed. "You don't even know how she looks like."

"But we all know that she works for Cortex. But for what purpose?" Aku Aku inquired.

"I have no idea." The aussie bandicoot shrugged. "Though personally she had some kind of hatred towards me without even knowing her elsewhere."

"Then perhaps Cortex has forced her to do such deed or even changed her mind otherwise? For some odd reason, I don't believe she's evil by heart."

"How can you be so certain of that theory?" Coco asked, still not convinced. "It's not the first time. All the other allies of Cortex were spiteful to Crash and they still are. Why do you think she'd be different?"

"Not all of them. Ripper Roo is no longer one of them, and Rilla Roo."

"Meh, there's only two nonetheless." The burgundy bandicoot stated.

"The only thing that I _actually_ did stay astonished about this all was the fact that she was one of us." Crash declared.

"One of us? In what sense?" The voodoo mask asked him.

"She was a bandicoot, just like us. Probably from a different breed, since she had a tail and a longer muzzle, but still from our species. If Cortex hates bandicoots that much like we've always known him, why that one?"

"This is getting too confused for my sake." Crunch rolled his eyes.

"I really don't have an answer for that, but I'm guaranteeing you all that she won't be pleased to meet me." Coco insisted while Crash chuckled for thinking of how girls could be so competitive.

"So I guess only time can tell what happens next, apparently." Aku Aku sighed, ending the conversation.

* * *

><p>"Stupid bandicoot." The black spy muttered hatefully as she wandered through the whole island, rethinking over and over. "Stupid Cortex... always thinking he can order me anytime he wants. Asshole. When I get my job done on this so called hero or whoever he is, I'm gonna take my reward and leave that hellish spaceship." She assured to herself.<p>

Suddenly, Amelia's ears twitched as she hearkened at least three voices, which an acquainted one has caught her attention.

"(Bingo.)" She thought, smiling in triumph. She tip-toed leisurely towards the bushes that were closest to the small house and secretly peeked the bandicoots through them, awaiting eventually that her prey would be leaving them at any time.

"Well, if you guys excuse me," Crash spoke as raised up from the grassy ground. "I need to go. Nature calls."

"Just make sure you don't do it near the river, you can contaminate it." Crunch laughed as Coco also joined him.

"Hah hah, very funny. Silly." He turned his back as he peacefully walked away from them. The spy bandicootess scanned him at sight without taking off her eyes by oblivion, and soundlessly followed the orange bandicoot until the destined place he was about to settle in. Fortunately, it wasn't too far - at the minimum it was only around two hundred meters to reach to the river. She was lucky that the island itself wasn't very populated, or scarcely at all, thereby she enjoyed the opportunity.

Feeling a kind of a sudden discommodity for no apparent reason, or a tiny presentiment running through his body that he wasn't alone in that area, Crash didn't hesitate to give a brief glance at every point of view. Believing that once again was just himself, he kept stepping undisturbedly until he stopped to begin unclosing his jeans' zip, but for some reason he yet couldn't do it freely.

And, just in that moment, she reappeared; directly, Amelia was standing right behind the unwarned hero, smirking wider whilst he wasn't noticing her and simply folding her arms towards such event.

"Nature calling, huh?" She remarked, raising her eyebrow. "I never knew you didn't use the bathroom."

Incredibly, Crash almost startled like a rocket.

"You again?!" He shouted, turning his face straightly at her. "What are you now, a stalker? Can't I have my own privacy?"

"I'm afraid not, little fool." She began approaching him. "But I'm glad I didn't watch you doing that. I'd totally dispense that."

"Why you..." Crash growled as his ears moved against his skull.

"Oh, please don't get mad." She sneered. "It's useless anyway. You won't go anywhere without being caught in my hands."

"By you? Oh please. If I myself defeated a tiger with almost the weight of an elephant, why would I be captured by a female like you? You're not even pretty." He lied.

"You're gonna regret what you just said."

Beginning the battle, Amelia ran towards the aussie bandicoot whom has accepted the challenge and both knocked each other several times, making the situation even turbulent as Crash began failing his attacking moves due to the fact that the spy was swift-handed enough to escape from his skills.

"Umm, you're good." He smiled. "But not as good as I am."

"Believe me, I'm so much superior than you'll ever be." She responded in smug as she did an attack-surprise and knocked him down right in the nose with her foot, causing the orange hero fall bluntly into the herbage.

"Oops, please don't piss your pants." Amelia teased as she laughed. "They're too pretty."

"Grrr." Crash growled again as he surprisingly lifted up from the ground and out of the blue gave her a powerful kick into her legs, making her to fly at least a meter and half away from him.

"Ouch!" She whimpered as she fell on her knees, placing her arms under her abdomen in pain. "That hurt!"

"After all it's not only men who suffers that." The bandicoot grinned in victory. The bandicootess wasn't about to surrender herself and showed her fangs in pure rage, walking towards her enemy and giving him a bitchslap right in the cheek, leaving him even unbalanced with the sudden impact. Oddly, Crash just stood there staring at her.

"For a hero like you can only be the biggest sucker I've ever known." Amelia avowed, but he didn't stay pleased to listen to that statement.

"Sucker, huh?" Crash narrowed his eyes face to face at the female spy. "And what are you? You're just nobody who's wasting her time to try to murder a guy she has never met in her life."

"I'm only doing this for business and survival, mutton-head." She retorted. "And before I get with the idea to kill you right now with my razor just precisely where you're standing, your pathetic little family can't hear you around these sites."

"I don't need them." He replied. "Even less _you_!" He knocked down the knife that she had in her hand.

"Oh, I see. You don't like fighting." Amelia admitted as she put her hands against her hips, unconcerned. "You're a weak. I guess it's better to leave a sissy than wasting precious time when you can never understand a dimwit." She turned her back.

"Thanks for describing me, and now do me the biggest favor to leave me alone." Crash retorted, impatient. "Find someone else to do the job for me."

"Fine." She merely ended, shrugging. But just in the instant the aussie bandicoot also turned his back to return to his business, the spy wasn't finished at all; stepping silently towards him without even making a teeny noise, she stood when she thought she was close enough to him.

"Hey." She spoke out to catch his attention.

"Huh-_Ahh!_" He screeched as his eyes got infected by a spray she used, pressing his hands against his eyelids. "It burns! I can't see anything!" Crash panicked as he slowly began to get dizzy, and shortly after the effect he couldn't hold up and fell unconscious, falling once again into the greenery ground.

"This will teach you a lesson." Amelia sniggered unmercifully as she dragged him away with her.


	4. Prisoned?

**Chapter 4**

If there was anything at the moment that the aussie bandicoot wanted to avoid, was precisely that short but painful last moment. Again, that stubborn female spy has appeared there just to capture him, and apparently she did it in an easy way, no more or less. As soon as Crash has eventually closed his eyes and fell into a weird, deep kind of sleep where his conscience was utterly disconnected from reality, to him it almost didn't last five minutes when he realized by instinct that the environment around him was unfamiliar. His ears, though not wittingly, twitched every once in a while as they were capturing sounds, which unluckily he yet couldn't identify any of them as his body was slowly regaining the touch. He'd have wished that it was a sort of anesthesia or anything alike, because for much he attempted to run away from uncalled crazy dreams, he'd still feel such dizzy just like his mind was about to twist. And, finally, he woke up.

Opening his eyelids, the bandicoot almost shocked himself when he felt a sensation of being high. High, at least than usual. Curiously, he glanced to the left and to the right and noticed gray cemented walls, giving him already the notion that he was inside somewhere else. Then gazing at his front, he noticed prison bars, where further closely he could also note that there were several prison cells one after another with various creatures within them. Was he in jail or something? It was a hint. And then, the last, he looked below. His feet weren't touching the ground, and he couldn't move his hands or legs either; but realizing, the big deal that just happened is that he, himself, was in a type of handcuffs which was seizing his limbs, all attached to the wall.

"Oh, come on." Crash groaned, furrowing his brow. "You can't be serious about this."

Suddenly, though not surprisingly, the black spy showed up as she walked naturally through the hallway. The surroundings actually had an unpleasant smell, more like musty smell. Every mutant she passed by began to growl in fury towards her, giving a strong point to the orange bandicoot that she apparently wasn't famous by her disadvantages. To him he still wondered why she was so careless in regards to everyone's opinions, or it was presumably because she only had a purpose to concern her job. Nonetheless, he still wanted a relevant demand of why he was there instead of his home.

"Have you slept well, bandicoot?" Amelia asked out of modesty, a fancy smirk crossing her muzzle. Obviously, Crash didn't feel like sharing his usual bright smile at her.

"If I ever could right now I would've taken care of your health, but firstly I want to know where the hell I am." He answered.

"You really lack manners, don't you?" She narrowed her eyebrow, and shrugged. "Well, too bad. I think you're smart enough to perceive that you're in a cell, later soon to be tortured."

This information has intrigued him. "Tortured?"

"Of course, you fool. I did capture you to get killed, not to be snuggled." She rolled her eyes as she turned her back. "Have fun with your next door friends, I'll be leaving for now."

"Wait, _where_ exactly I'm going afterwards?" He demanded her again.

"Don't know, ask the pope." Amelia sneered as she eventually went away. Damn, could she ever be anymore caustic? Not to mention that her jokes were actually corny.

"Great. Now I'm stuck." Crash gave a frustrated yet quick sigh. "I really need to get outta here, but with these nagging handcuffs it won't be easy. Hmph. What can I do to unlock them?"

Starting to think before getting into action, the aussie bandicoot decided to study around the prison. By his point of perspective he couldn't really tell if it was small or large due to being unable to move his body - but _maybe_ the others who were also prisoned inside the cells could help him out in return of something.

"Hey, you." He called to a group of Ratcicles, who were right in the cell of his front direction. "Can any of you please help me to release from these handcuffs? I have no idea how."

"Sorry bandicoot, but we only have the power of freezing." One of them briefed. Crash bit his lip, rethinking again.

"But you guys don't know someone else who can do it? I'm promising you that once I get free, I'll liberate everyone in the prison." He insisted. The Ratcicles asked for a moment of talking before they would come to an agreement, and accepted.

"We know a Titan who can move objects by telekinesis, so I think he can open up the handcuffs." The same one stated. The other members got into the work and made signals to the cell that was precisely next to them, where a mutant in form of chicken inside a blue thing with skinny arms and legs showed up behind the bars.

"Hey TK, do us a favor and try to bring the handcuff keys that are over there." He told him as he aimed his fingernail at a keyring which was situated on a wall nearby Crash's cell. The mutant did so as a blue energy flew from his hand towards the keys and brought them inside the bandicoot's cell, where they unlocked firstly the hands and then the feet.

"That's it! Thanks guys." Crash smiled in triumph as he got free and stepped to the bars.

"Now how are you going to get out of there?" The Ratcicle asked him. "The keys for the prison door are with the security guard, and at the moment he isn't around here."

"We don't need him." He assured him with a wink, taking off from his pocket a simple lockpick that looked like a dental floss. "Believe me or not, this little fella is capable to unlock anything." He affirmed as he placed it into the keyhole and the cell door opened, leaving to the orange hero to take care of the rest until he stopped to recall something important.

"Umm... how many are you in total?" He inquired.

"Well... a _lot_." The Ratcicle replied, making Crash to stare at the distance the incredible amount of other creatures who were waiting to be released.

"Oh boy..." He remarked, discouraged.


	5. The Great Escape

**Chapter 5**

The evening arrived. On Earth, Crunch and Coco were starting to worry about Crash's sudden disappearence. They already knew themselves that he would always take a little longer to come back due to his natural laziness, but not at this point. In fact, they only kept in mind about him when the sun was setting, realizing how late the time was as the two bandicoots decided to wait for the magical mask's response, but no such luck when he eventually returned with a despondent expression on his face.

"I've searched for him everywhere," Aku Aku told them, disappointed. "But remarkably I didn't even find Crash around the river or elsewhere of the island."

"Then it must have been that bandicoot spy again!" Coco pointed out, beginning to become satiated by such anger. "Grr, I can't believe that she could take my brother away with her. What a-"

"Calm down Coco, we'll get this settled up." Crunch abruptly interrupted to soothe the blonde bandicootess. "I'm betting that Crash will soon have one of his ordinary plans to escape from wherever he is now, I'm totally sure."

"But what if the spy manages to prevent his getaway?" He inquired.

"Believe me Aku, I have a feeling that he isn't in this planet at the moment. All we can do now is awaiting."

"Awaiting?" She raised her eyebrow. "If you're truly certain that he isn't anywhere around here, where he could possibly be?"

"At Cortex's spaceship." The muscular bandicoot briefed. "But we can't come over to him. Your newest space plane has broke down in the other day, remember?"

"Well, I have already begun fixing it," Coco bit her lip as she paused. "But it's not full repaired yet."

"I think it is better not to risk it." Aku Aku stated. "I hate saying this myself, but we have to follow Crunch's contemplation. Crash may be somewhere outer space, but we also must have faith in him. I just verily hope he doesn't have to face the worst while being there, though."

"I only wish he comes back home safe." She sighed. "And make that so-called-spy get beat up, too."

"Oh, Coco." For some reason, Crunch chuckled at her attitude. "You just never change your ways, do ya?"

"She has a reason." The mask added with a smile to enliven the environment between them for a bit, but it still didn't kept him away from his unreliable thoughts. "(Good luck, Crash. We'll be waiting for you.)"

* * *

><p>"Is the pest already caught?" The evil mask, Uka Uka, eventually inquired for the fifth time while he was getting further impatient.<p>

"Right where he belongs, my master." Amelia ensured with a smirk while she was peacefully sat, taking a break as her elbows were upon the large table.

"See, Uka Uka?" Dr. Cortex spoke as he was more self-confident. "I've told you that sooner or later we would get him to jail."

"_We_?" The black bandicootess raised her eyebrows, insulted. "_Me_! It was me who had to go to his house twice right on Earth just to bring his own butt over here." She urged.

"She's right Cortex, you did nothing." Uka avowed without being impressed.

He scoffed out of disbelief. "Well at least _he's_ here, am I right?" The scientist folded his arms as he glared at his agent.

"Thanks to me." She added as she made a grimace on purpose to annoy him, mischievous.

Suddenly, the lights of the spaceship began to fail every once in a while within a short period of time with blackouts as soon as they also hearkened racket coming out from the other side where they were standing, leaving them even more unreliable when they acknowledged that they were roars.

"Cortex, what is this noise?" The mask demanded him.

"I-I don't know, sir. I thought Amelia was taking care of this."

"There's no way possible of those creatures getting free. They're all caged!" She answered them, but shortly after of rethinking something she changed ideas. "Unless-"

_BANG!_, the door behind them that connected directly into the convention room merely exploded in a matter of seconds with a flash of fuss. The mutants entered inside all together and started to attack every one that would step into their way, beginning with the notorious villains Dr. Cortex and Uka Uka in the first place.

"CORTEX!" He literally screamed out of anger as he attempted to get away from the mutants with his magical powers. "Do something!" He begged.

"What can I do Uka Uka?" He asked out loud as he ran to a chair and placed himself onto the top of it to not get caught by them. "I have nothing else than a laser gun to shoot a colony like this!"

"You idiot!" The mask yelled again in frustration. "You never have a freaking way to defend yourself!"

Meanwhile through the whole mess, and argument after argument, the spy eventually managed to break away from the convention room discreetly as she hurried herself to go back into the prison's hallway. Barely in the moment she stepped her feet into it, her jaw seemed to drop right down her face as she instantly became stunned by such inconvenient sighting - _all_ the prison cells were empty, not even leaving one single door that would've been closed.

"Dang it." Amelia sulked. "This guy's tougher than I thought."

"Are you referring to me?" An acquainted, teasing voice simply spoke out of nowhere, enough to make the female spy realize exactly the one she was trying to get done with all this time. Turning her head back, her eyes scanned straightly that orange heroic bandicoot standing up for her, a few brave meters away.

"You really like to fool people around, I see." She remarked, her arms folded.

"Well I do consider a fool myself, what would you expect?" Crash loosened a brief laugh as he was taking easy the things on his own way, leaning his elbow against the next wall. "Nice suit, by the way."

"I don't need somebody like you to kiss my butt, thank you."

"Too bad, I actually wanted to sympathize with you." He shrugged. "But if that's what you want, then this will be my last time."

"It should've been since the first." She added as she prepared herself in a fighting pose. "And now that you're so undaunted, what about another attacking contact between us?"

"I normally don't fight with women in the first place, but you're the exception." He smirked.

"A little sexist, isn't it? Never mind it then, I'll be the black widow this time."

"We'll see." And both went on combat.

* * *

><p>"Have you already got rid of them all?" Uka Uka persisted after several minutes of constantly hiding and battling.<p>

"I-I guess so." The scientist panted after finishing the last few ones. "But I'm afraid some have escaped from the convention and went to the other sites of the spaceship."

"How do you mean by that?" The mask demanded while he was already perplexed. "I thought we've defeated every mutant!"

"I thought so as well, but the rest of our crew wasn't here through the entire time, remember?" Cortex reminded him.

"Wait... are you saying that they have left in advance?"

"Most presumably, yes." He hesitantly nodded.

"Those sucker heads!" He scolded. "I've told them to stay _here_ until I'd say so!"

"Looks like this time they had the hurry to return to their little homes, what a bunch of swindlers." He agreed.

"Well then Cortex, now do something convenient for everyone's sake and solve this for once and for all!" Uka Uka shouted.

"What?" His expression went wide.

"_What_ nothing! This was all your responsability for planning with that bandicoot spy, and you still ruined everything."

"I ruined everything?" He huffed. "I've _finally_ caught up the brat after all those failed years, and you still scream at me?" Cortex confronted.

"Caught up?" He frowned his eyebrows. "He just got away from prison along with the others! Are you blind?"

"No, you're blind!" He faced up again. "You could only be the worst boss I have ever experienced in my life, Uka Uka!"

"Oh, spare me! I don't have fault that you born with a square head and a notable brain disability!"

"How dare you to insult me! At least I have arms and legs, unlike you!"

"Of course you big fool, I'm a human spirit reincarnated into a mask!"

And so the same old argument continued over and over inside that shallow chamber, this until the spaceship itself has been abruptly interrupted by another large blackout where this one was definitive, leaving once again the huge vehicle to turn off every type of light. Shortly afterwards, the space vehicle also began to turn to the left and to the right systematically out of control, keeping up until a point that the two villains eventually realized what was going on.

"It's the mutants!" Cortex practically gasped. "They're controlling the cockpit area!"

"Quick, before it's too late!" Uka Uka warned as he followed the scientist until the zone as fast as they could.

* * *

><p>Sweating up to the hair, the aussie and the spy bandicoots couldn't have been anymore weary through a persistent struggle. A few breaks here and there before fighting again, the marsupials have ultimately stopped for a while as soon as they also finished damaging the imprisonment, keeping to pant themselves until they would catch their breath normally.<p>

"You know," Crash spoke after he placed a hand on his mouth to clean a bit of blood. "It's interesting how we battle each other without getting bored."

"I agree," Amelia replied between breaths. "Your head is indeed a core for my taste."

"So is yours."

Suddenly, the lights which situated above their heads on the hallway's ceiling immediately burst into million pieces of glass just in the moment they turned off, making Crash's instinct to enter into action as he ran at high speed towards Amelia without thinking twice.

"Look out!" He shouted as he merely pushed the spy frontwards before the ample lamp could smash her, and accidentally fell on her body where their noses touched each other's.

"Umm... this is not what you think it is." He urged in total embarrassment as his cheeks became a bit ruddy, but she nevertheless didn't stay pleased.

"What about _you_ getting your filthy body off of mine?" She narrowed her eyes. "And what the heck just happened with the electricity?"

"I don't know, but it isn't something good." Crash answered as he didn't hesitate to raise off of her. "Cortex may be planning again."

"_Him_?" Amelia almost loosened a chuckle, and sneered. "Like if brainless chicken heads could ever hurt a fly."

The aussie hero stood surprised upon her remark. "You... dislike Cortex?" He raised an eyebrow in doubt.

"Blegh, did you _really_ think that I liked him?" She asked in disgust. "He's an ass, and a sissy. All he does is kissing that moody voodoo mask to make him superior than anyone else."

"Wow... I'm actually astonished that you hate him. You're a villainess."

"Even villains hate each other, believe me."

_"Automatic destruction in 180 seconds, countdown."_

The bandicoots froze their bodies and stared at each other. "Uh oh..."

"It's three minutes left!" Amelia informed, a bit panicked. "The spaceship is going to explode if not stopped!"

"We don't have time to do it, let's go!" Crash hurried himself as he held the black spy's hand and both went on the run for survival, finally exiting the imprisonment as the two marsupials were despairingly attempting to find a way to get out of there.

"Hey!" He called her out loud due to the annoying sounds of alarms while they kept running. "Don't you have a type of space plane or something alike around here?"

"Yes I do, but it's in the evacuation area!" She briefed.

"Where is it located?"

"On the other side of this hallway, but there's a shortcut for it a few meters ahead." She added.

Noticing a door right in front of them, Amelia used her identification card to open it and guided Crash until the evacuation zone by passing through another hallway, where they eventually reached to a dark purple space plane parked near the main output of the spaceship.

"There it is!" He exclaimed happily and in relief as he approached it further. "How much it's left from now?"

"One minute and half." She responded as she quickly removed the keys from her pocket and turned on the space plane. "We shall be leaving right away."

"But what about you?" Crash inquired somewhat in worry in regards to her. "Wasn't this your home?"

"We don't have time for questions." Amelia interrupted tediously as she began switching on the engine. "Or you'll enter here, or you'll be left alone and die."

Perceiving that she was right, Crash didn't bother to hurry and jumped into the spy's space plane where he occasionally sat next to her, and both of the bandicoots escaped safely from the tremendous spaceship right before an amazing explosion could've been seen through their windows by its intense radiance.


	6. New Home, New Beginning

**Chapter 6**

Though the arrival to their home planet wasn't that far, Crash Bandicoot has never felt such adventure that it could be simply extraneous at so many ways. Despite that he never entrusted this new spy from Cortex, the aussie bandicoot had slowly began to open his mind whilst the two marsupials were travelling through space, somehow leaving him even more perplexed on thinking the fact why she has spared his life. He had believed himself that she was evil, but then he reconsidered Aku Aku's theory; perhaps he was right.

Approaching the female spy a little further since he was sat next to her, Crash hesitated a few times to speak as he merely stood puzzled, glancing at her in complete curiosity.

"Umm, hey..." He called as he placed a hand to scratch his nape. "I know this actually seems bizarre and such, but... until now we couldn't meet each other like it should've been, and well..." He paused. "...I don't know your name."

Unexpectedly, the black bandicootess listened to his affirmation and looked at him, focusing back into the driving a few seconds later.

"My name's Amelia." She presented. "And if I'm not wrong, you're Crash, am I right?"

He nodded. "Yup, yes I am."

"Cortex told me a lot about you." She added. "I frankly don't know how you can handle him. I've noted that he didn't even sleep nights just to think on eliminating you."

"Oh, that's normal from him." Crash said without getting admired.

"Normal?"

"Yeah. You may not believe this, but since my existence he has been _always_ planning to get rid of me." He put his hands behind his head to pose himself in a relaxed position.

"Wait..." Amelia scowled at him. "Are you saying... that he has been trying to destroy you since you were a baby?" She inquired a bit out of surprise.

The orange bandicoot couldn't help but laugh. "A baby?" He attempted to sustain the laughter. "I've never been a baby, actually. Unless of course when I was still an irrational ordinary animal, but-"

"Woah woah woah." She interrupted him as she shook her head out of confusion. "How do you exactly mean, _ordinary animal_?"

"Well... it's a long story." He shrugged. "I don't recall it quite well nowadays, but Cortex was actually the scientist who mutated me into an anthropomorphic bandicoot."

"He mutated _you_?" She raised her eyebrow. "But for what purpose?"

"To be the general of Cortex Commandos, an army constituted by sapient mutated animals to conquer the world." Crash enlightened. "But thankfully that never did happen due to the failure working of the first Cortex Vortex. And then the last thing I remember was screaming _Woah!_ and jumping from the castle's window without thinking twice."

"That's... woah?" Amelia stood perplexed by such story. "And what happened afterwards?"

"Let's say he became an angry little man and never gave up on me ever since."

"Oh. Right." She ceased the conversation as she focused again to not lose the control of the dark purple space plane, this until the furry hero had another question to ask.

"And what about you?" He inquired. "Do you... have a family?"

Amelia stayed silent for some moments before answering. "Family as a family, no." She replied, a little bit strictly. "My father just signed me over to work for Cortex without even asking my care. My mother, I've actually never had a chance to meet her, yet I believe she's still alive somewhere else. And my twin brothers... well, I never saw them again after we got separated when we were young teens. Personal issues."

Crash felt bad for asking such intimate question and lowered his ears. "Oh... I'm sorry." He apologized. "Had no idea that you passed through all that stuff."

"Meh, it's alright." She shrugged. "I'm already accustomed to it either way, hence why I don't like to get along. But I only saved you because I hadn't the courage to leave you there to become a 'pile of trash', like Uka Uka used to snarl."

"A pile of trash, huh? I always love your comparisons." He grinned. "But no, seriously, _really_? And I thought myself I've heard you say that you wanted to annihilate me forever."

The spy bandicootess slightly blushed while he wasn't looking. "Umm... yeah." She said. "But it's past now."

All of a sudden, a sonorous alarm was shot to startle both of the bandicoots who were on board, making Crash to shut his ears with his hands at such annoying stereo.

"What is going on?" He asked as loud as he could.

"I don't know!" Amelia briefed out of panic. "We were already entering into Earth's atmosphere until I lost the control of the engine!"

"WHAT?" Crash shouted as his eyes widened. "How do you mean by it?"

"It means we're going to crash you idiot!" She responded.

"You mean 'crash' by the sense of _we_ knocking ourselves into land and die, or have you just called my name to catch my attention?"

"FOR CHRIST'S SAKE CRASH, THIS IS SERIOUS!" She yelled into his ears as she despairingly grasped the steering wheel.

"Oh my..." He eventually perceived that they were falling at high speed towards the ground after he stared through the windscreen. "SH*T! Amelia, let me use the steering wheel!"

"It isn't working!" She warned, but Crash still grabbed it at his maximum force to pull it upwards, but for his dismay it didn't take long until he accidentally broke it off the ignition. Instinctively, Amelia gasped at such importunate time.

"Oops..."

"Look what have you done!" The bandicootess scolded with reason as she began to pull out her auburn hair in hopelessness. "Now thanks to you we-"

"We are going to die!" The aussie hero whimpered dramatically as he sat again on his seat and hugged Amelia tightly, almost not allowing her to breathe. "Goodbye, cruel world! You were good while you lasted!"

"Crash, you're not letting me breathe! Stop it!" She urged with distress as she attempted to get away from him, but it was useless as she knew that both were going to face one of their worst collisions.

* * *

><p>"Aku Aku, I'm uneasy!" Coco insisted as she couldn't stop walking around in circles. "I can't stop worrying about Crash. It has been two days and I'm afraid something might've happened to him."<p>

"I'm sorry Coco, but we don't have nothing to do about it." The magic mask reassured with an unhappy expression. "I just don't want any of you to go over there without equipment and safety."

Crunch, who was sitting on a log reading a magazine behind them while they were discussing, sighted a shiny thing falling down the sky. He couldn't really tell what it was due to being at the distance, but he'd soon realize that they were in the wrong place. "Hey guys! What is that?" He aimed his fingernail upwards.

Aku Aku didn't bother to glance at the sky and momentarily widened his eyes. "Oh my holy spirits," That's all he could remark. "Crunch, Coco! Run to the other side, now!" He ordered whilst he flew as fast as he could.

As soon as the Bandicoot family kept running before that unknown large object could wipe them out, a space plane has abruptly landed right where the log was and destroyed it into pieces in a flash, dragging the own ground as it made a huge racket until it could've been finally stopped. Smoke showed up so intensely that the bandicoots couldn't yet notice what it was precisely, leaving them with the choice to investigate if there was someone inside that fallen object. Suspicious, they warily approached the space plane and examined it around carefully, this until Crunch paced towards the windscreen and stood stunned to see Crash inside the cockpit, believing himself that the one he was still hugging was that notorious spy.

"Guys! It's Crash!" The burgundy bandicoot shouted in joy to catch their attention. When the other two overheard the name they didn't hesitate to come over to where he was standing, but their faces immediately changed as Coco seemed to have an acquaintance with the bandicootess who was sitting next to her brother.

"You witch!" She yelled furiously as she picked up a piece of wood left from the log to hit her, but Crunch stopped her as he grabbed her arm.

"Coco, calm down!" Crash spoke out to soothe his sister. "I'm alright and alive." He assured them as he and Amelia eventually exited from the damaged cockpit.

"Thank goodness you came back home safe." Aku Aku smiled at the bandicoot with relief. "But I do have a question..." He added as he glanced at the female spy. "Why you brought her with you? Didn't she-"

"She saved my life, Aku." Crash avowed.

"She saved your life?" The other bandicoots asked out of surprise simultaneously.

"You really helped him to escape from Cortex's spaceship?" The voodoo mask approached the black bandicootess to inquire her, despite that himself was glad that there was someone who at least was on their side.

Although hesitantly by such unknown faces, she responded. "Yes, I did." Amelia nodded. "Something happened at the spaceship that ended up into an automatic explosion, and so... we fled."

"Wow, I'm amazed how an expert spy could drastically change her path by a shorty like him." Crunch joked as he foolishly grinned. However, Coco wasn't convinced yet.

"So you apparently quit doing your job just to save my brother?" She frowned her eyebrow as she talked right in front of her. "Seems a bit unreliable to me, ya know."

The spy couldn't help but sigh. "I'll admit that it wasn't technically planned in one of my schemes," She confessed. "But at last instant I couldn't simply leave him there."

The three rethought for a while; without her, presumably Crash would've ended up dead. Though they had still lots of time to regain their trust on the bandicootess, Aku Aku combined with the three bandicoots in private to see if they'd come to an agreement, and shortly after they went over to the female spy to tell her the news.

"Amelia," The mask called her. "We all have decided that, in gratitude for saving Crash, will you accept to be a member of this family?" He proposed.

Unsurprisingly, she stood speechless. "You guys... want _me_ to be a part of your family?"

"Yeah." Crunch agreed. "If you don't have a home, why not?"

"How do you know that I-"

"I told them." Crash stated. "C'mon Ame, you know you don't have anywhere to go from now."

"Yeah, but..."

"Sorry for almost attacking you earlier." Coco apologized. "I was just afraid you would... you know, murder my brother again." She laughed a little.

"For some reason I've thought again that I'd have nightmares tonight..." Crunch shrugged.

"It's okay." Amelia smiled. "Although I'm actually emotional that you guys accept me as one of your own..."

"Of course we do." Crash ensured as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ever since you told me that you hated Cortex, I knew you weren't a true villainess."

"I don't believe that." She folded her arms as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Well children," Aku Aku spoke as he was well-disposed after getting everything in control. "Now that we welcomed our new member, what about if we get into the work to clean this up?"

"Aww, Aku Aku!" The aussie bandicoot moaned. "And now that I needed a break from that old brain..."

Everybody chuckled at his complaint as they didn't waste another precious minute to start cleaning the whole damage, this until some time later Crunch dared himself to seduce the black bandicootess.

"Nice outfit." He raised his eyebrows repeatedly. Coco saw his attempt and pushed him frontwards to see if he'd begin working again, warning her new friend as she gazed at her.

"Hey Amelia, I think you should get new clothes." She advised. "That spy suit isn't very appropriate... especially when we have hungry single boys around here."

"Yeah, you're right." She nodded. "Thanks for defending me, by the way." She thanked with sincerity.

"Not a problem." Coco winked and went back on the work.


	7. A Plan Up His Sleeve

**Chapter 7**

Falling into Cortex Island, the evil scientist and the short-tempered mask eventually reached the coast after the crash of their evacuation projectile. With now their spaceship utterly destroyed and some huge fragments left from the blast fallen in their surroundings, the situation couldn't have been anymore worse than that. In fact, like usual, Uka Uka didn't bother to begin snapping with all of his lungs.

"Cor-tex!" He literally squeaked. Cortex was still half asleep underneath one of the fragments until he heard that unbearable raging voice, by instinct to not even think twice before lifting up his head and, unluckily, hit it hard against the ceiling. That certainly gave him a nice headache, for sure.

"You put us into the middle of nowhere, _again!_" He kept shouting into his ears, increasing his frustration in such amazing velocity like if it was a pressure cooker. Cortex stood speechless for a few moments knowing that it was presumably his end for recalling his promise he did with the mask, but without a tiny doubt he'd try his hardest to change the course of the story.

"Please Uka Uka," He started begging. "Believe me! Please don't take me to the ice age." He fell on his knees, his fingers crossing. "This time it was that damn spy! She betrayed us!"

"Again with your excuses?" He added. "I should've known better to get rid of you already!"

"Please!" He trembled his hands. "Give me one more chance!"

"One more chance to what? To make us into losers and let once more that annoying orange rat to go on with his life with his new girlfriend?"

"I swear Uka Uka, I'm supplicating with all of my being!" Cortex urged, but the powerful mask wasn't convinced yet. However, as the day was windy, the two stopped talking for a while to see if their moods would go easy for a bit whilst Uka Uka was deciding the scientist's fate, this until thankfully his brain worked in the right time.

"That's it." He began smirking, his finger rubbing his chin. The mask noticed his thoughtful expression and immediately scowled at him, curious of what his next stupid plan would be about.

"What is it now?" He demanded impatiently as Cortex glanced at him with the widest smirk he had ever seen.

"Remember when I told you that Amelia worked for the military?" He asked him. Uka Uka merely looked at him, puzzled.

"Yeah I remember. So what?"

"Well the thing is, she has still other two brothers." He continued. "Twins or not, I don't know, but I have the knowledge that one of them is a pilot."

"And?"

"And if I communicate with them, 'lying' that their beloved sister got _kidnapped _by Crash himself, they'll finish him up in attempt to rescue her."

"So that's _your_ plan? I expected better."

"This time I have more of a tingling saying that this one is further effective." Cortex ensured him. "Plus, since any of them hasn't seen each other for _years_, it's also the perfect time to convert their beliefs that the hero bandicoot is, in actually, a serial killer out there."

"To provide them another relevant reason to call the rest of the army?" The scientist nodded. Uka Uka rethought one more time before even accepting his new getaway to his punishment, but in the end he regained back his reliance as he classified the scheme as a workable one.

"All right, Cortex. I'll allow you to talk to those two." He said. "But again, only upon a condition."

Cortex's throat seemed to choke for an instant. "Yes?"

"You have only three days to make that bandicoot dead." He declared, his tone getting serious. "If not, instead of dropping you right into the ice age era, you're going to a _far_ darker one. And this time it's also not leaving you floating through space for the rest of your life."

Just to listen to his malicious yet unmerciful voice left the scientist's soul cringe, eventually keeping his mouth shut in total silence as the evil voodoo mask took the opportunity to turn his back at him and disappear out of sight.

* * *

><p>The next morning arrived. The beautiful sound of quietness and the sun's first sunlights going through the Bandicoot house's windows, with also the birds beginning to sing their habitual yet enchanting melody, couldn't be all the perfect manner to start the day. In the meantime, the black female bandicoot was still asleep in her sweet dreams inside her new comfortable bed, resting her mind from all the odds that happened in the recent days at long last. Though, it didn't take long until someone opened the bedroom's door and leisurely stepped towards the bandicootess, with the intention to not make any tiny noise, and approached further to her as he simply lied down next to her side with his muzzle closer to her face. He still watched her sleeping like an angel for some more moments, which he personally thought it was adorable for someone like a spy, for the record.<p>

"Good morning sleeping beauty." Crash greeted with his eyes half closed and his charming smile. Amelia slowly opened her hazel eyes as soon as her ears slightly moved upon hearing that recognizable voice, and she momentarily startled by screaming and giving a jump backwards in the second she knew who it was right next to her.

"Crash you scared me!" She protested, now with her mood clearly spoiled for almost falling out from the bed. The aussie bandicoot softly snickered at the way she got scared and shook his head, keeping his smile.

"Relax, I didn't sleep with you." He chuckled. Amelia sighed in relief and moved again to the same spot where she was sleeping, glancing at the orange marsupial as she had nothing more to state.

"Umm, hey," Crash spoke as he placed a hand on his nape. "I've come here to wake you up for breakfast, and..." He paused for an instant to withdraw a wumpa fruit which was inside his pocket. "Since Coco is still making it, I thought you'd like to eat something. You know, to kill a bit of your hunger."

The black bandicootess studied the fruit in complete curiosity after he handed it to her, and she stood intrigued. "What's this?" She asked.

"You don't know what a Wumpa fruit is?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "So I'm guessing you aren't anywhere from these islands, am I right?"

"Well I'm actually from Cortex Island, and in there I've never seen such a fruit like this one." She admitted.

"Oh, I see." Crash added. "Try a bite. I think you'll like it."

Amelia took his advice and finally bit the mango-like fruit, becoming amazed shortly after of how tasteful and delicious it was.

"It's good." She nodded with pleasure as she was still chewing a piece. "It's really good."

"You like it?" He smiled wider.

"Yeah. This can only be the most sweet fruit I've ever eaten in my life." She smiled in turn as she kept eating it like if she hasn't eaten in weeks.

"Careful, it has loads of fat." Crash briefed. Amelia immediately stopped chewing it as she stared at him like a chucklehead, but much for his amusement he laughed again.

"Just kiddin'. It's mostly nutritious, it only has a little."

"Very funny." She sneered as she narrowed her eyes at him. Although he did wish she had a little more of humor sense in herself, he nevertheless had a sort of feeling that he was being somewhat attracted to her... or it was just an inception of a friendship?

"Crash!" His sister yelled through the hallway. "Breakfast's ready! Hurry up or Crunch will take care of it for you."

"And you better know it! Pancakes are my weakness!" The burgundy bandicoot exclaimed himself. Crash turned his head for a while to look at the door to where their voices had come from, and then at Amelia.

"Well, looks like it's better leave your warming place, huh?" He talked to her.

"Apparently. Does Crunch always eat your plate?"

"Sometimes. And I'm already telling you that he abuses in everything. Especially... abs."

"Do tell. At first I thought he was Chuck Norris in bandicoot version."

The aussie bandicoot couldn't help but burst into laughter. "That... that was... gold!" He tried to sustain his breath. "Really Ame, only now I realized that you're actually good at humor."

"I've never been good at it, but I think with you something always changes a bit of the airs, doesn't it?" She shrugged as she exchanged a foolish smile. Crash also smiled at the bandicootess and offered her to help her raise up from the bed, both eventually exiting the room towards the stairs in direction to the kitchen.


	8. The Military Brothers

**Chapter 8**

All the way up to the Air Force all by himself on foot, Dr. Neo Cortex had already his own life put on a deadline. Within three days, he had to find the two destined bandicoots to fulfill his ultimate plan against his worst yet notorious enemy, or otherwise he would become the deadly Uka Uka's victim. The hours passed by and the short-structured scientist kept his breathing in line as he initially moaned at the master's departure, adventuring - if not darig from his part - himself to walk across half of the island to go the to the specific local, and it wasn't any tiny bit easy for him since whose legs were awfully skinny to keep on track.

Eventually sighting the military zone with his own eyes as he finished climbing upland after upland, Cortex smirked upon seeing the airplanes still immobile. He thought this way he'd take the opportunity to talk to the twins before the departure and didn't hesitate to hurry until there, concealing himself from everyone's eyesight in the bushes. Scanning the local through them, he waited a bit impatiently for their arrival once he at least remembered how their physical looks would be like for having still the photos saved inside his pocket, and approached his huge head a little further to open more his eyes and stay on surveillance.

At long last, two similar figures appeared as they were lightly walking towards the airplanes while they were entertained into their conversation, making Cortex to furrow his brow at them discreetly. Their clothes were even resembling to each other due to both working in the same rank, not to mention that their heights were only one or two centimeters apart, too.

"Hey, when are you gonna start thinking to get a girlfriend?" The brown coloured bandicoot with black hair and hazel eyes spoke to his brother in tease. The two possessed a tail, as well.

"Pff why, are you jealous?" The other one joked in turn, and he was also brown but with blonde hair and blue eyes. By chance, he was wearing sunglasses at the moment. "You have to accept the fact that I'm a better pilot than you."

That hint caught the scientist's ear; it was no doubt that it was them who he was precisely looking for.

"Keep going with your smugness Rick, you're not going anywhere with it." The black-haired bandicoot shrugged. "You're only seventeen and you just finished the military training... by now."

"Hey, you too bro." He urged. "Unless of course you wanna bet with me to know who flies better."

"I see you're expecting an accident to knock your head and change your behavior, for sure." He barely sighed.

"You just worry too much, Rock." Rick rolled his eyes.

"Of course, I began worrying about you ever since you drank that bottle of gasoline by mistake and didn't kill yourself. Even until today I'm still wondering about it."

The blonde bandicoot stopped for an instant and stood frowning at him. "Umm... it wasn't gasoline, it was Coca-Cola."

"Whatever."

All at once, Cortex momentarily left the bushes and ran towards the bandicoot twins in a fuss, screaming and pretending his hardest to hyperventilate out of fright.

"Help!" He yelled, 'desperate'. "Oh please, help me!" He kept on as he eventually reached until Rick and fell on his knees. "Oh, it's just _terrible_! You guys must help me!"

Oddly, the twins merely stood scowling at the scientist with the weirdest thoughts they had imagined, and didn't hesitate to glare at each other before deciding what they would come up with next.

"No offense, but... who the heck are you?" Rick asked. Cortex, on the other hand, knew how to deal with the situation as he continued with the drama.

"He took your sister away!" He feignedly cried out as he hugged him. "It was the worst that could've ever happened to me- I mean _her_!"

"Wait, you know our sister?" Rock raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I know her, she was my agent- I mean she worked for me! Until someone kidnapped her and she disappeared out of sight. It was... hideous!" He dramatized.

The blonde bandicoot perceived his uneasiness as he was getting suffocated with his forceful hug. "Ok, ok! Geez, take a chill pill for a moment and try to explain me better."

"Rick, can't you understand?" The black-haired bandicoot reminded. "This might be the man who our father has signed the assignment with for Amelia to work for him, remember? Not to mention that we haven't seen her since we were kids."

"Exactly!" Cortex nodded repeatedly. Despite that none of them did really know his true identity, Rick was more concerned on the message.

"Are you telling us that my sister... has been... kidnapped?" His eyes slightly widened in worry.

"Yes, yes!" He urged. "But she hasn't been kidnapped by anyone else..." He added as his expression became earnest. "...but by a serial killer."

The brothers froze. A _serial killer_? Wow, now that was utterly unexpected.

"How... how could _he_ dare to kidnap her?" Rick began protesting in outrage, since he was commonly known to be overprotective.

"It's awful indeed." Cortex agreed. "But today I just had the best of luck to find you two in time. I even have all the information about him, where he lives, his affiliates, and most importantly his physical appearence."

"I'm so gonna catch that guy." The blonde bandicoot avowed, determined. "No one is allowed to do that to my own sister. _No one_. When I'll meet face to face with that so-called smartass, I swear I'm going to tighten his stupid neck with my own hands. Even if it's the very last thing I'll do in my life." Just to hear his obscure statement made Rock cringe for the first time at his other self.

"However, you guys need to be careful." The scientist spoke clearly as he rose a finger. "That serial killer is capable to escape anything, therefore, try to kill him in underhand. The faster you do it, the faster you'll save more lives. He's around anywhere."

"This way we have to bring our whole army to seize him occasionally at his house, then." Rock suggested.

"Certainly yes. He's very dangerous, and Amelia is his main target. At least, you know... for now."

"That's enough to convince me to finish him up." Rick uttered. "Thank you for informing us, sir. How much there's time left?"

"At the minimum, 24 hours." Cortex briefed.

"Do you have a photo of the killer?"

"Oh, sure yes." He handed it to him, and the male blonde bandicoot studied it carefully with every detail recalled in his mind. It took a while, but the scientist didn't even bother to turn his back to rub his hands in complete delight, and smiled.

"Rock, I think we're ready to leave right away." He said to his twin brother as he saved the photo into his pocket, and he rushed to bring the rest of the equipment. "But before we go, where is his current residence located, precisely?"

"His house is located in N. Sanity Island, right inside a jungle where it's near to the island's coast." He explained. "It's a small one and can be easily found, since there's no other neighboring houses around present. If you want, there's another photo I have here to give you a better look."

"Remarkably, I went to that island when I was training a few days back, so it won't be necessary. I think I already know that house..." Rick stated as he placed a finger under his chin in thought, until his brother eventually returned with the helmets and special glasses.

"Ready." Rock nodded. The military bandicoots thanked Cortex again for his warning and entered into action as they ran towards their particular airplanes, taking off in the moment they finished calling the other members of the rank via radio to help them. The evil scientist, on the other hand, couldn't resist to laugh at ease for accomplishing his mission so successfully.

"Prepare to face your _unforeseen_ destiny, Crash Bandicoot! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-" He suddenly choked. "Dang it, I think I forgot to take the pill for my laughter..."


	9. An Uneasy Night

**Chapter 9**

In that same late afternoon, the Bandicoot family was simply having a day like any other. Despite that her life became far less occupied and, somewhat, empty, Amelia hadn't nothing better to do than reading a novel book on her bed. The minutes and hours were starting to get slower and slower due to the fact that she hadn't any more missions to do in return of something valuable, and now that seemed to upset her for being so inactive. She was a spy, after all; she wasn't accustomed to this type of life. Did she do the right thing to save that bandicoot from the costs of the mad scientist? Or, she would eventually change her mind to overturn everything, just the way it was formerly?

Those questions were bothering her, and Amelia had no longer the patience to think about them over and over. Closing the book since she also was finding its story a little bit too obnoxious and boring, the black bandicootess placed it on the nightstand and rose up from the bed sheets to walk towards the door and go downstairs, where by luck she found Coco in the living room doing something else which could've been, of course, related to one of her mechanical inventions.

"Hey Coco." Amelia greeted, her tone a bit jaded than usual. The blonde bandicootess, who at the moment wasn't that busy as she'd be, didn't hesitate to look at her.

"Hey Amelia." She smiled. "What's the matter? With that voice you seem like you have really passed through a bothersome time."

"Oh, it's nothing, really." She slightly shook her head. "I came here to ask you if I could take a shower? I already needed a nice bath ever since a few days ago."

"Sure, the bathroom is right upstairs at the end of the hallway." She said.

"Thanks." Amelia nodded in the moment she turned her back and climbed up the steps. For Coco, she couldn't help but having a tiny tingle sensing that something was going on with her.

"Hey Coco, we're back." Crunch called out loud as he just arrived inside the house with Crash, after dealing some normal business outside with Aku Aku. "Man, is it just me or I'm becoming lazier..."

"It's because of your age." The orange bandicoot teased with a snicker, but the burgundy bandicoot almost had succeeded on giving a punch right into his head.

"Glad you boys eventually came in." She declared. "I just hope Cortex gives us a really good break from all of his unaccomplished plans, though."

"You said it well. I also hope that Uka Uka has eliminated him off the Earth already." He remarked.

"Believe me, nevertheless, don't stay surprised if he comes back somehow and someway." Crash shrugged.

"Yeah, you're right. I think we are destined to fight against him until he, you know... die?"

"Despite that I find it ironical that he created us and in the end wants to wipe us out." Coco added.

"He sure is an old damaged brain... just like he has always been." The aussie bandicoot finished with a quiet laugh as he picked up a Wumpa fruit from his pocket he had collected a while ago, and he bit it.

* * *

><p>Finally. A peaceful moment. Amelia turned on the shower after she closed the door and covered the window with the curtain to make the bathroom unclear from sight, and began leisurely undressing her black boots, pants, dark blue jacket and white tank top. Those were the new clothes she has bought yesterday, and she only was fortunate because Coco decided to go shopping with her. On the other hand, it was some kind of relief to her since she hated of being exposed with that spy outfit, in spite of still having another contradictory feeling about missing her old job... again.<p>

She couldn't really understand why she was so uneasy in her mind; after all, didn't she dislike Cortex with a strong passion? She did confess herself that she hated being inside that hectic spaceship, and she couldn't be anymore right than that. Perhaps all she needed was a matter of time to accept the fact that she was in a life with new friends, family, residence... but still with so many questions to ask about her past.

As the water started to get warmer, the black bandicootess enjoyed the instant to place herself into the shower. At last, it felt good feeling her body getting washed from all the dirt she obtained, and her long auburn hair touching her cheeks and shoulders as they were covering her eyes whilst they were shut. And then, she felt disconnected from the real world when she merely stood with her head looking downwards, and her arms strangely hugging her torso; no clue why she was recalling once again those memories... but they were dominating her.

The same sweet, yet unmerciful feeling of the so called _missing_.

"Father... why did you had to leave me?" Amelia murmured in her breaths as the water kept falling upon her. "Why... why would you separate them from _me_? What did I ever do to deserve that? Why... how could you turn yourself into such monster?"

Meanwhile, Crash was walking towards his bedroom through the hallway until his ears hearkened the sound of the shower, and frowned in curiosity while wondering who could possibly be there at the moment. For his mischance, however, he accidentally forgot the other new member at home and didn't think twice before putting a hand on the door's knob, and opened it no more or less until the second he realized that certain someone was having a bath for her sake... or wasn't she?

"...Woah." He widened his eyes in such way that even his voice almost slipped out. Crash simply stood glancing at Amelia like a chucklehead whilst she was on her back and absently washing her hair with the hands, leaving his body with an awkward tingling inside. Additionally, it didn't even take long before he began raising his own eyebrows.

"(My god... Crash what the hell are you doin'?)" He thought. "(You need to get outta here before you turn youself into a fried egg! But... but I can't stop it... my eyes just glued to her sensual black fur... and pretty-looking auburn hair... and tail... she's beautiful...)"

Suddenly, Amelia noticed the aussie bandicoot through the reflection of the shower's glass and immediately turned herself backwards, where she instinctively screamed loudly like a crazy upon discovering that Crash was watching her out of nowhere. And, since he wasn't expecting such reaction from her - at all -, he screamed as well.

With the screams arriving to the living room, Crunch and Coco stopped doing their businesses and stared at each other, furrowing their brows as they attempted to imagine in their minds what might've just happened. But, knowing the muscular burgundy bandicoot, he found this nothing more than a simple prankish hoax.

"What the heck is this, a screaming contest?" He narrowed his eyebrow. "Oh well, if you guys think that you can scream louder than I _do_, then watch this! HAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" And he kept on.

"(Men...)" Coco thought in disappointment as she just exchanged a 'facepalm' moment.

* * *

><p>"Ouch! That hurts!" Crash groaned in pain as his sister was placing a band-aid on his nose, as careful as possible.<p>

"Of course it hurts, Amelia has even tossed you her hairbrush." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah Crash, that was low from you." Crunch remarked. "What gave you in the head to watch her naked?"

"Look dude, I had no idea that it was her who was taking a bath!" He urged. "Plus, if only Amelia wasn't that hardcore with everybody..."

"I'm hardcore because I don't allow stupid snoopers like you." She huffed as she merely folded her arms. "No one is allowed to see or touch my _own_ body. Not even you." She glared at Crunch.

"Well, at least you could take it as a compliment..." Crash added quietly.

"Just to let you know, you must give Amelia more privacy from now on, so don't fool around with her." Coco stated with a serious tone. "No more silly games."

"I hope that's also direct with Crunch..." The orange bandicoot talked to himself.

"Hey." He rolled his eyes at him.

"I'm going to relax my head for a bit outside." Amelia said out of sudden as she stepped towards the front door and left. Crash, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to look at his siblings in suspicion.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked them.

"Why don't you go ask her?" Coco suggested. "She may explain to you, I guess."

"As long as you don't get her on the nerves..." Crunch shrugged. The aussie bandicoot sighed for not having another alternative and decided to follow to where the black bandicootess stopped by, sighting her sitting on the hammock where he used to lie down to take a nap. For some apparent reason, she had her knees close to her as her arms were surrounding them with her muzzle aiming frontwards, and her hazel eyes gazing at the sky since it was already night. She looked thoughtful, somehow.

Crash perceived her condition and approached to her without trying to catch out of surprise, and sat next to her. Amelia didn't even move a muscle; or she either was too absent-minded to even notice that he just came over, or either she was somewhat bothered to have him around.

"You okay?" He inquired her.

"Do I look with a face of 'Ms. Happy'?" She retorted.

"Well... no." He agreed. "But if you don't tell me why you are so unhappy, I can't help you out in anything."

"I don't need your help." Amelia added. "It's personal issues. I just... I just feel that I don't belong here."

"Umm?" He stared at her. "Why that?"

The black bandicootess turned her face straight to him. "Why that? I also have a family, you know, I simply didn't come out of nowhere." She avowed. "And now I'm just realizing that maybe this isn't the thing for me."

"But... but you saved me." Crash said. "You saved me for some good reason and you even told me that you hadn't anywhere to stay in."

"Yes, you're right. But perhaps I was wrong to accept to join your family." Amelia declared. "Look at me, Crash; I wasn't even one of you, and I lost my job. Now, I feel alone. If only I could go back in time to stop all of my father's thoughtless mistakes..."

"Your father?" He slightly widened.

"Yes, my father. He's the commander of the military forces in Cortex Island, but I tell you that he isn't very affectionate."

"I can tell, he's the commander."

"It's not only because of that." She turned her face away. "He took my brothers away when I was still a girl, and I was forced against my own will to become a spy and work in that area. I hadn't happy years. He only cared more about the stupid 'security' of the whole archipelago than he ever did to me, and I... I seriously don't know what I'm gonna do."

Ending her speech, the orange bandicoot understood her hard feelings and felt bad, his ears lowering for a little by knowing that she wasn't joyous enough to stay with him.

"If that's how you feel... well..." Crash spoke. "You can go anytime you want. Though... I still wish I could know you better."

Remarkably, his statement caught the black bandicootess' curiosity, making her to gaze at him again. "Know me?"

"Yeah, you know, in that... 'friendly' sense." He lied. "Since you only stayed here for two days."

"Oh." Amelia understood. "Yeah... I wish I could've known you better, as well."

All of a sudden, the two marsupials hearkened distinctive noises from the sky, though the female bandicoot somewhat knew that they seemed sounds coming out from helicopters and two F-16s. But, for their surprise, it wasn't the sounding from that kind of helicopter... but from army ones.

"What in the world am I seeing?!" She declared out loud as she placed a hand on her forehead to protect the eyes from the intense lights.

"Helicopters?! Why are they coming towards my house in the first place?" Crash asked as he stood stunned. The military helicopters landed near the Bandicoot house as soon as several soldiers left them while running in direction to the aussie bandicoot, for even his major shock upon watching them armed with guns.

"Wha-what's going on here?!" He demanded out loud after two or even three soldiers handcuffing his hands and dragging him by force towards one of the helicopters. Throughout the scene, Amelia became utterly shocked.

"What are you guys doing?!" She protested despite that they obviously wouldn't even bother to not listen to her. Meanwhile, two bandicoots rushed over to the black bandicootess and took off their helmets, leaving her even more astounded after everything and something else.

"Amelia? Is that you?" The blonde one spoke with a worried tone, and she couldn't believe it.

"Ri... Rick?" She widened her eyes. "It's... it's really you?!"

"See, I told ya that she remembers us." Rock talked to him as he folded his arms for not being impressed. The female bandicoot stood in shock for some brave moments and then hugged her brothers, but a second later she momentarily pushed them away as she still wasn't convinced yet.

"Why is Crash getting arrested?" She demanded them with an earnest voice. "What did he do?"

"_What_?" Rick frowned. "You're defending him? But he kidnapped you!"

"Kidnapped me?" Amelia scowled.

"Yeah, there's been a man informing us that you've been kidnapped by a serial killer." Rock briefed, but the spy didn't know if she'd rather laugh or cry from total stupidity.

"He's my friend! He's not a serial killer, he's a _hero_! Where did you guys hear that monkey nonsense from?!"

"Amelia!" Crash shouted out for help as he already got dragged inside the helicopter. "I did nothing! Let me go you Hitler wanna-bes!" He kept yelling.

"I order you two to bring him until here right _now_!" She ordered as her patience went to the limit, but unexpectedly the twin bandicoots also grabbed Amelia by the arms.

"We're sorry sis, but due to the general rule you also have to come with us to answer some questions." Rick told her as the black bandicootess got forced and dragged until a separated helicopter.

"What?! You guys just lost your minds! Release me immediately!" She bawled, but her attempts turned out useless as the army came over with the hurry to leave the place as soon as possible. Watching the spectacle from the beginning to end through their window, Coco and Crunch have discreetly hidden themselves to not be discovered and merely stood with their eyes and mouths wide open, unbelieving.

"Oh, my..." They remarked simultaneously.


	10. Flawless Strategy

**Chapter 10**

Even after being taken in an unhoped flight from the own army of the islands, Crash was still assured himself that this whole event could be only one big true mistake. If someone could really fool two lunatics who apparently believed that he was a 'serial killer' out there, then the aussie bandicoot already had prepared for the theory that this wasn't going to end well. Transferred until the main interrogation room somewhere in the Air Force in Cortex Island, Crash stood expressionless since he thought it would be sort of futile to keep fighting back to return for a good night sleep and simply folded his arms, sitting on the chair awaiting for the so-called pilot who seemed to be a kind of freshman due to his attitude.

Eventually, Rick finished talking to a soldier who was specifically on guard next to the interrogation room's door and came in, still not surprising Crash with his angry face. In fact, he even was yawning at ease without putting his hand on his mouth in politeness since he was handcuffed, and half closed his eyes while he wished he could scratch his nape out of itch. Obviously, it wasn't because he had fleas.

"Well, well, well..." The brown blonde-haired bandicoot began his speech as he stepped towards him, his hands behind his back. "Isn't our most looking-for criminal? Or, may I say, _killer_?"

"You've only met me for five minutes." Crash merely answered.

"Silence!" Rick ordered. "I don't trust you nor I never will; my word. Just to glance into those devil eyes of yours makes me feel awful of what my sister might've been passing through."

"Wow, who knew a pilot could be fond of poetry." The orange bandicoot couldn't help but sneer and roll his eyes.

"Who do you think you are to joke around with me like that?" He huffed. "I'm not going to release you without telling me what you have done to Amelia."

Meanwhile, Rock arrived into the room after opening and closing the door, stepping towards his twin brother's side to listen what the marsupial hero had to say.

"You know, I find it funny to see Amelia perfectly fine without a single or a tiny scratch on her body, and you guys still judging me as a serial killer." Crash confessed. "It's really ironical, isn't it?"

"But she was with you, and that's a relevant evidence to me." Rick folded his arms, still not wanting to believe him.

"Of course, so that means if she was with somebody else instead of _me_, you'd still call that person a serial killer and arrest him no more or less." He exchanged a 'blank stare' moment. "Oh come on! What kind of servicemen are you, a bunch of clowns? You don't even know who I am!"

"Umm... he's in fact right." Rock agreed as he looked at the blonde bandicoot.

"For your information," He began scoffing. "It wasn't even our idea, it was from an old man who told us that she has been kidnapped."

"Old man?" The black-haired bandicoot scowled.

"What man?" Crash also scowled. "What did he look like?"

"Well, he was short-structured with yellow skin and dressed in a white lab coat with an huge N on his forehead... not to mention that he actually had a pretty bad hairstyle." Rock briefed.

"It wasn't his hair, it was his face which looked like to an australopithecus." Rick corrected.

"Whatever."

"...Cortex." Crash avowed after sighing in agony. "Could that rotten brain _ever_ leave me alone for a freaking second in my life? I should've known already why you guys were so serious about it."

"Wait. How so?" Rock demanded.

"Because, that 'old man' who you guys spoke to and somehow believed in the most stupid lie I've ever heard in my life, is actually an evil scientist who only wants to take over the world and more stereotypic blah blah you guys know." He explained.

"Really?"

"Nah, it was Santa Claus, wanna bet?"

"Enough!" Rick protested. "Why should _we_ believe a liar like you? We already know you're telling us that only to try to escape from being in jail."

"Seriously?" Crash rose his eyebrows simultaneously, teasing. "Well I'm so sorry if I'm too honest for your own taste, Mr. Pilot."

"My name's Rick." He furrowed his brow.

"Oops, sorry - didn't I mean, Mr. Ricky-pants?"

"Don't you dare call me by my full name!"

"Then use your donkey brain for once and think!" He shouted back. In the meantime they started arguing with each other endlessly and leaving poor Rock without the alternative of being a witness himself, Amelia walked towards the door of the interrogation room after being able to get away from the private room she got forced to be locked in and promptly pushed away the guard who was there on supervise, allowing her to open the door in such way that everyone startled and turned their heads at her.

"What the..." Rick stood puzzled. "Amelia, how did you-"

"Firstly, I'm now a spy." She placed her hands on her hips. "And secondly, what's all of this fuss I've been hearing throughout the hallway?"

"Let's say your beloved brother just simply... doesn't like me." Crash remarked.

"And I really don't." He turned his back.

"Well too bad," Amelia talked. "Because whether you guys like him or not, it's Dr. Neo Cortex who is in reality behind this."

"What?" The twin bandicoots uttered in surprise.

"I don't get it..." Rick frowned. "I-I thought that man was saying the truth!"

"I'm surrounded by idiots..." The aussie bandicoot shook his head in disappointment.

"Remarkably, I'm not surprised of how you guys still act like children until today." The black bandicootess put the palm of her hand on her forehead in disbelief. "Since _when_ father taught you to believe in everything - or entrusting for that matter - a stranger? Did you at least search for Crash's files to know if he had criminal record in the first place?"

"Ame, they didn't even know my name." He added without being impressed.

"Wait a second..." Rick turned to Rock. "You told me that wasn't required!"

"No I didn't." He urged. "It was you who told me that you knew the rules."

"Then why didn't you remind me back then?"

He scoffed. "Hey, do I had a face of a priest to repeat that Bible all over again?"

"Here they go..." Crash rolled his eyes as he was becoming bored.

"They haven't changed, at all." Amelia remarked as she decided that it was already time to stop needless arguments. "Boys, calm down!" She moved both away from each other's noses. "We have a far important situation to settle than hearing your... girly talk." Crash couldn't resist to snicker since he always pictured them as little girls - or even chickens.

"What's the situation?" Rick asked, curious.

"Well, since Crash is still Cortex's main target, I was thinking about a plan-attack to reward our revenge." She suggested.

"You mean, to defeat him for once and for all?" Crash implied. "Hmm, seems legit."

"I'm with you." Rick nodded. "That little man has apparently lied to the wrong guy, and now he's gonna pay the price for fooling us."

"I'm with you bro." Rock agreed.

"That's what I wanted to hear." Amelia said proudly. "Despite I'm still mad at you both for calling almost the whole army to bring us until here unnecessarily... anyway." She sighed.

"At least you're with them again." The orange bandicoot stated after recalling what she has admitted hours earlier.

"Yeah sis, we're actually glad to have you back." The blonde-haired bandicoot exchanged a warm smile.

"Same here." She also smiled. "Now, would any of you mind to eventually unlock his handcuffs?"

"Yeah dudes, it's sort of uncomfortable after talking to the puppet all of this time trying to convince you two about my story, and yet watching me still sitting on this chair waiting peacefully to punch your faces." Crash sneered. Rock understood his 'friendly' threat and went to him to open the handcuffs, seeing him to stretch his arms and hands upwards in absolute relief. "Oh, finally."

"My name's Roderick, by the way." He presented. "But just call me Rock. And he's my younger brother Rick, as you already know. You're..." He paused to remember. "Crash, right?"

"Yes, Crash Bandicoot. Nice to meet you too." He replied with a hasty tone once he still wasn't happy for what they've done to him by mistake.

"So... what's your next plan in mind, sis?" Rick spoke right after a good interval of silence within the room. However, Amelia just had a bright idea.

"Come near, I already know what we'll do..." She smirked maliciously.

* * *

><p>"Coco, what are you doing?" The musclebound burgundy bandicoot inquired, astounded. The blonde female bandicoot just arrived outside until the front door after preparing herself with aerial equipment, even amazing the own Aku Aku's wooden face after perceiving that she was so determinated.<p>

"We're going to rescue Crash, and this time don't even dare to open your mouths if you guys intend to keep me off the subject." She started as she pointed them with her finger. "Those military guys just hadn't the notion to what the hell they were doin' while they arrested Crash and Amelia, and I'm certainly _not_ going to stay at home with my butt pasted on the couch pretending that everything's okay."

"Woah, woah, calm down tigress." Crunch showed his hands in innocence. "Don't you think you're overreacting for a bit?"

"She's in fact right, Crunch." Aku Aku said. "I sense that he has been arrested by the army from one of Cortex's underhand schemes, unsurprisingly."

"This time it's us who's going to give Cortex a really good damn lesson." Coco added as soon as the burgundy bandicoot and the voodoo mask followed her until the garage, coming over to her biplane which was saved for her particular missions. "C'mon boys, we don't have much time to waste. There's still a seat for two." She offered.

"Aww, you have no idea how I feel excited to be into the air again." He joked as he didn't hesitate to jump and sit.

"I really hope that's a consequence from your steroids..." She scowled at him.

"Where Crash may be at the moment, Coco?" Aku Aku asked her.

"Don't worry Aku, I have everything under control." She winked. "Destination; Air Force!" And then she turned on the engine and took off.


	11. Tangled Feelings, Justice In Action

**Chapter 11**

Inside the castle, the powerful mischievous mask was becoming further impatient and eager to know any news related to Cortex since the past two days. He truly knew that if in the end of the third day he sees that dispensable rat still alive or _even_ barely alive, his futile minion would be better begin praying for luck falling from the sky during his few remaining minutes. As the hours passed by since he arrived into his laboratory to wait for the scientist, Cortex eventually showed up into the chemical room with sweat on his square-shaped head, probably because for running as fast as he could to not get too delayed.

"You're late." Uka Uka reminded him, his voice as snappy like usual.

"F-forgive me, master." He panted. "But I at least bring some good news."

"News? I really hope they're related to the marsupial brat."

"S-sure they are." He nodded repeatedly. "I came here to annunciate that the military idiots already took care of him."

"So he's dead?" Upon hearing his most desired question to be answered made Cortex to swallow deeply.

"Umm... not yet." He finally admitted. The evil mask, on the other hand, couldn't hold up to react towards his affirmation in rage.

"Don't make me anticipate the deadline, Cortex..." He warned.

"Please, Uka Uka! They-they only appeared a time ago due to having an unexpected problem on their way until there, and Crash got officially arrested in prison for now." He lied with the attempt to turn him less incredulous in regards to the subject.

"I still don't believe it; is he _dead_, or not?"

At the same time that the scientist stopped replying for a moment, thinking about his sooner termination, a hologram has appeared through the wide monitor of the lab room with an acquainted figure who, for his salvation, was one of the military twins who he has spoken personally.

"Ahem." Rick coughed on purpose as he did a listening-in test. "Umm, hello? _Bonjour_? Oh, it's already working, ahem. Dr. Neo Cortex?" He called.

"Oh, just splendid!" Cortex clapped his hands out of relief and hoping that his chances would be raising again. However, Uka Uka was still the same. "Yes, fellow soldier?" He exchanged a fake, big smile.

"We've just received the latest news from the martial-court after capturing the killer." He briefed. "Crash Bandicoot was declared guilty due to the aggravation of his crimes, and was sentenced to death in the electric chair."

He really couldn't believe _anything_ he finished hearing. Astonished and mouth wide open, Cortex was about to explode of happiness.

"You're... you're meaning that, he... he... died?" His eyes widened even more as he just simply asked for assurance.

"Yes, he's officially dead. Time of death, 23:05 PM."

"That was half hour ago..." Uka Uka recalled, but the scientist didn't care anymore.

"Oh, my..." That's all he could add. "Oh, my god..."

"Well, since my message got already transmitted, I'll have to turn off. Have a good night." Rick smiled as he immediately unplugged the hologram. Meanwhile, the short scientist merely stood staring at the grumpy mask with an unusual expression.

"Uka Uka, do you have in mind what this means?" Cortex inquired.

"Err... that you escaped one more time to my once beautiful and prepared punishment?"

"CRASH IS DEAD!" He practically squealed joyfully as he started dancing around the laboratory room. "My dream just came true! At long last!"

"Umm... Cortex, are you okay?" For the first time, the mask actually worried over his own health.

"I'm _perfectly_ fine, Uka Uka!" He shouted as he hopped on a chair and kept dancing upon it. "I can't believe my worst archenemy has eventually accepted his defeat! He's dead! Dead! No more pursuits after my plans, no more gossiping whenever I'm thinking of something, no more poking his stupid nose whenever I'm cooking, NO MORE FAILURE!"

"I think you became completely berserk of your mind..." He remarked with honesty as he slightly moved away from him, somewhat in fear.

"There's no savior for you all anymore, inhabitants of Wumpa Islands!" Cortex continued yelling for the puppet, still out of exhilaration. "_I_ will finally conquer the world on my own way! Prepare for your last days of freedom, 'cause it's me, Doctor Neo Periwinkle Cortex, who will transform your precious minds into obedient, mindless slaves! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed maniacally.

"Alright, that's it." Uka Uka scoffed, annoyed. "I'll bring the bat to shut him up..."

* * *

><p>"Plan A accomplished, bro!" Rick highfived Rock as the others were bursting into laughter.<p>

"I really can't believe how Cortex is so dumb to fall into such easy trap!" Amelia confessed.

"Do tell, we quite gave him the most happy five minutes of his lonely life." Crash remarked. "Of me being known as 'dead', of course."

"But there's plan B left, still." The brown blonde-haired bandicoot winked. "That's the best part."

"I just hope it isn't any Jackie Chan related, though..." Rock reminded.

Suddenly, the four marsupials hearkened from the distance a peculiar aerial sound that seemed to come directly towards their way, in which Crash instinctively acknowledged that the vehicle itself belonged to somebody he knew. Landing right on the large base of the building of the institute whilst they stood watching it curiously through the window, Amelia and the rest of the group decided to investigate the unknown person with their own eyes and ran until there, where the most uncontemplated of all was about to happen.

"Weird, there's no one inside the biplane..." Rick avowed as he rubbed his blonde hair, wondering.

"Rick, look out!" The black bandicootess shouted seconds before the instant that someone has just jumped onto him, beginning to attack the military bandicoot with karate skills.

"_Help!_" He screamed in despair as he got forced to fall into the ground and stay defenseless. "I'm getting attacked by a ninja!"

"Coco, stop it!" Crash ordered after he could recognize her voluminous ponytail and her unique blue flower she has as a hairpin. But still, no results.

"Leave him, Coco! He's harmless!" Amelia ensured as she tried to calm her down by pulling her off him. "Everything's all right."

"How do you mean that everything's _all right_?" Crunch eventually spoke out as the other two sighted him and the voodoo mask behind them.

"Crunch? Aku Aku?" The aussie bandicoot frowned, somewhat surprised. "What are you all doin' here at this hour of the night?"

"Rescuing you, of course." Coco folded her arms. "Isn't that obvious?"

"There's no need to do such action, really." She insisted with calmness as she helped Rick to lift up. "We only have been taken by mistake, but I know these two."

"Alright, who was the smart one that had the brilliant idea to knock me down and-" He stopped. The way he merely stood stunned staring at something else that everybody had no notion of made themselves look dumbfounded at him.

"_Sacré dieu_..." Rick remarked quietly.

"Umm, guys..." Coco noticed this and moved a step or two backwards. "Why is he looking at me like... that?"

"Rick, are you feeling sane, dude?" Rock asked.

Ignoring everyone's sayings, the blonde male bandicoot walked towards the highly intelligent bandicootess and kneeled a leg, carefully and gently holding her hand as he kept gazing into her green eyes.

"Excuse me for my inadequate behavior, mademoiselle." He apologized. "I'm going to admit myself that I've never felt or been in love before, but you, miss, sure has robbed my heart in such way that it can't stop palpitating passionately. Please, just call me Rick." He finished his cheesy declaration as he kissed her hand.

"What the hell did I just watch..." Crunch said to himself.

Amelia sighed. "Coco, these two I wanted to clarify about are my twin younger brothers, Rock and Rick. We are actually triplets, but we got separated since early."

"So they don't work for Cortex?" The burgundy bandicoot inquired out of distrust.

"No, they only got fooled by him and thought that Crash was a serial killer."

"Makes sense." Aku Aku agreed.

"Doesn't still make sense to my part when someone I barely met is already in love with me..." She pointed up as Rick stood next to her, smiling.

"Well everybody," Crash eventually began his speech to put everything in order. "Since we're all already reunited, it's now time to enter into action and kick Cortex's butt! Who's with me?" He rose a fist upwards in determination.

"Yeah! Let's give him my masterful punches! They're hundred per cent free, by the way." Crunch sneered.

"I'll join you. I'm enough tired of him always managing a way to make us restless with his upcoming and monotonous schemes." Coco added.

"If you want, there's still an extra seat for you in my plane." Rick offered as he winked charmingly at her.

"Our F-16s only have a seat each one." Rock enlightened, but he got mightily elbowed in response to keep shut. "Ouch..."

"No, thank you." That's all she answered, and no more or less turned her back. By her expression, for his lucklessness, wasn't any bit interested on hanging out with him.

"But what about us?" Amelia reminded the orange bandicoot as she perceived that the three available vehicles were already occupied. "How are we going to transport ourselves until the castle?"

"That's a good question." Crash bit his lip, thoughtful. "There must be something more around these surroundings... hmm..." He scanned the distance as attentive as he could to concentrate, this until his luck turned over at the best time. "Hey... what is that thing parked near the gateway of the building?"

Hearing his question, the twin bandicoots turned their heads to the object which he was presumably mentioning about, still not ending up impressed.

"It's just a motorbike." Rock briefed.

"Perfect!" Unexpectedly, the aussie bandicoot gleamed in excitement as he walked towards the vehicle. "I haven't rode one over a year ago."

"Wait... over a year?" Amelia furrowed her eyebrow.

"Yup, I did ride a motorcycle for a few races. Obviously against Cortex, as usual." He explained as he examined it minutely to figure out how he would make it switch on. "If only I knew where the keys are..."

"I'm sensing that they may be inside the top case..." The black-haired bandicoot stated.

"Inside the top case?" Rick scowled at him. "Dude, then how the owner would open it without them?"

"Because the keys that are used to open the top case are different from the ones which turn on the engine, duh." He rolled his eyes.

"If that's so..." Crash said as he withdrew his useful lockpick from his pocket. "...then I already found how."

Placing the own lockpick into the small input of the top case and being able to unlock it, the orange marsupial eventually sighted the motor's keys and the helmet situated next to them, as well a black jacket folded underneath them. Feeling fortunate than ever since he really wasn't expecting the protective equipment to be there, he didn't bother to try out his new stylish jacket and he wore it, and lastly put the helmet on his head.

"Well, this could be considered my lucky day." He grinned as he picked up the keys and put them directly into the ignition, turning on the motorbike at long last. "Looks like this baby has really spared energy, hein?" He remarked with satisfaction as he sat on the motorcycle.

"Oh, Crash," Coco called after remembering a significant detail. "Take this." She tossed him his old bazooka. "I brought it within my biplane for emergencies. Plus, it's rearranged and instead of shooting fruits, I altered its capacity to a stronger one prepared to shoot balls of energy. But careful, it's very powerful, therefore only use it for self defense." She clarified.

"Thanks sis." The aussie hero smiled at her, and then turned his eyes at Amelia. "Wanna a ride?" He offered, his eyebrows raising.

Oddly, she blushed. "Umm... well..." She moved her face away to hide her embarrassment. "The truth is, I've never been on a motorbike before..."

"Don't be silly!" Crash softly laughed. "There's a first time to anything. Come on in."

Accepting his advice, Amelia stepped towards him and sat on the back seat, having a bit of fright for never travelling on a vehicle with only two tires. Noticing her hands grasping his stomach without much strength to be assured herself that she wouldn't fall, Crash discreetly smiled at her instinctive coziness.

"Rock, Rick; begin preparing your F-16s." He ordered. "Aku Aku, Crunch, go with Coco. I'll be the first to departure so that you guys can follow me the way."

"Yes sir." The twins made a gesture of understanding and raced until them. The others, on the other hand, ran until the biplane and awaited for the engine to be fully workable.

"Ame, hold the bazooka." Crash handed it to her.

"What?" She stood admired. "What if I fall?"

"Trust me, you won't." He ensured her. "Whenever I shout 'Now' it's the moment you shoot, ok?"

"Okay."

"Good." The orange bandicoot nodded as he squeezed the handlebar grips, smirking as his adrenaline was increasing every second. "You better prepare yourself, Cortex... 'cause I'll be _back_." And he rode off the main street at high speed in direction to the castle.


	12. Highway Love

**Chapter 12**

Riding until the other side of the island was actually pretty far. To achieve the evil scientist's castle, the crew has accepted the challenge against their own hours of sleep and focused on their next sweet vengeance, even if it also meant on bringing some military forces and particularly a feminine brain with them. However, there he was, the aussie orange bandicoot killing his boredom and enjoying another soon-to-be marked adventure of his unstopping life. He couldn't really tell if this night was going to make him a difference or not, though, he couldn't deny the fact which for the first time he had admitted consciously that he hasn't been feeling alone at this point, and it wasn't strange or a mere coincidence that he took time to realize it. Even as a hero, Crash himself knew that he was the only one to do the whole job; dunno why he never tried to bother or care about something so usually considered insignificant, but he just didn't. He always thought that petty thing had to be the very last of everything, even if it had to be until his time would come.

On the other hand, Amelia was amazingly quiet. Apparently, her problem with new vehicles has already vanished throughout that small period from the beginning to the moment, although she also hadn't reasons to expostulate anything ever since she got chosen to carry Crash's reformulated weapon and go with him. In fact, the situation even felt pleasurable, at least to her so far. The motorcycle was remarkably noiseless, or, stated in a realistic way, the two marsupials could only hear the sounding of the engine, and for the record it wasn't loud enough to interrupt their contemplations for being the ones to sustain the immense hush.

It was a starry night; it could be seen that there was no clouds to be sight of, and the sky itself was in such an intense dark blue that it could be evidently mistaken as black. The stars, for their own part, were also brighter than most days, and their glowing beauty was something that it wasn't easy to look away and not get absent-minded. The female bandicoot's pretty eyes just hadn't limits to when to stop gazing at them so mindfully, especially when it came to rethinking about her upcoming future. All she had to accomplish presently was to finish off Cortex, and then was it; the end of the story. Perhaps, the time of coming back to her old home with her twin brothers has eventually come, and she couldn't lie, she was utterly glad on regaining that opportunity after so many years on standing by herself. But still, she felt that there was a half which was incomplete, and it was precisely that distraction with the stars that she was trying to find an answer or the missing piece of the puzzle.

With the two F-16s and the biplane more advanced on the way up to the castle, Crash and Amelia stayed behind as they still rode the almost never-ending roadway. Since it was Summer the deal with the coldness wasn't much, yet, the bandicootess was having further the need to talk to him. Even though she wondered why before taking action, she came up with something at long last.

"Hey... umm..." Amelia began, despite that she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. "I know we don't interact quite each other and all, but, just asking out of curiosity..." As she kept on with her speech the orange bandicoot slightly turned his muzzle to his right side, giving her a signal that he was listening. "Do you ever... had a girlfriend?"

Pausing for a brief moment, Crash didn't take long to reply, feeling completely immune to any hard feelings. "Yeah, an ex. Her name was Tawna."

"Oh." She bit her lip, rubbing her arm for asking the wrong question. "What... what happened to her?"

"Well, literally I saved her from Cortex's hands shortly after I've been mutated, but in the end she dumped me over a dirty yet wealthy rat called Pinstripe." He explained.

"Woah." She remarked. "She _really_ did that? What a-"

"I know. None taken." Crash added. "I'm not offended at all. I wasn't the right guy for her, anyways. You know how most girls are, only care about money more than anything... perhaps she did that to me because I had nothing valuable."

"And rescuing her wasn't _valuable_ enough?" Amelia huffed. "I really want to know what kind of chick she is."

"Meh, she's already the past for me, so... it isn't worth on talking about her anymore." He said frankly. "And... what about you?"

"I have an ex, as well." She stated. "His name was Derek. I met him on highschool before I have become a profissional spy myself, and well, he was kind of nice to me in the beginning, but..." She stopped for an instant to sigh. "He ended up on drugs and whatnot, so we broke up."

"That sucks... sorry to hear that." That's all he could apologize.

"It's okay."

Silence. To either one of both, the conversation just got over too early, and listening back to the tedious and smooth sounding of the engine wasn't helping any better. Shortly after, the heroic bandicoot just found out a redemption right in time.

"Hey, do you want to listen to the radio?" Crash suggested. "Can't believe I haven't turned it on until now, since we still have another halfway to go through until there..."

"Sure, turn it on." Amelia smiled. "I don't listen to it for like, ages... it's really awkward."

"Same with me." He exchanged a silly grin. In the moment he eventually turned on the motorcycle's radio and adjusted the volume, a song was already being played and some seconds later, these lyrics automatically caught the bandicoots' ears:

_"I need love_  
><em> Love's divine<em>  
><em> Please forgive me now <em>  
><em> I see that I've been blind<em>  
><em> Give me love<em>  
><em> Love is what I need to help me know my name..."<em>

"This song..." She spoke lowly, but she was so absent-minded into the singer's voice that she couldn't finish the sentence.

"...Gives you chills?" Crash attempted to understand as he turned his head to look back at her for a second. He was kind of affected, as well.

"Yeah. The exactly same one I've been listening over and over when I was dating with him..." Amelia added.

"And me..."

His latest, soft remark didn't escape from being hearkened inside the black bandicootess' ears. In consequence, she slightly narrowed her brow and glanced at him, even if his whole face was practically hidden behind the helmet.

"Amelia... how..." He started, having some difficulty to not stumble on his own words and losing his focus on driving. "How would you feel if you had to do everything you ever wanted... all by yourself?"

Perceiving it, she wasn't surprised on expecting him to inquire that question. "Well... the fact is..." She tried to answer while she placed a hand behind her nape, although she also tried her hardest to not give a straight response only made by sincerety. "I'm kinda accustomed with it."

"Honestly?"

"I... I suppose so."

"And... you don't feel alone on not hanging out with that Derek... anymore?"

"Why yes, I do miss him a little, but..." Amelia stopped. She now understood where he was trying to get to; she couldn't always be devious or simply turning away her concerns, much less when she knew that she lived a life full of loneliness and lies. To her, that topic didn't seem enough to make her convince to pursue a new way, but she also couldn't stand getting further distraught with it.

"I still feel a bit... lonely."

Aside of avowing that declaration almost soundlessly, Crash's heart raced a step ahead, and he again turned his muzzle towards his right side to gaze one more time at the night whilst riding the vehicle forwards. He took a deep breath, but it wasn't because he was bored upon knowing that he still had to drive those outlying kilometers left, or even thinking about how he'd defeat Cortex. To him, those were just the most ordinary things in the world, because to be truthful it was the cycle that life has chosen for him. Yet, something was still choking him inside, and becoming far vulnerable when it came to bearing such anxiety, it was about time to let that out for once and for all.

"Ame, I..." The aussie bandicoot called her, his voice keeping in the normal tone. "I... I have to tell you something."

Hearing his soon-to-be confession, the female bandicoot got curious and slightly rose her ears upwards, hoping to be some happy words to cheer her up for a while. "What is it?" She eventually asked.

"I know you'll be utterly shocked after what I'm going to say, but I..." He continued, despite that he began messing up with his phrase too often due to his nervousness. "I... I just wanna tell you that I... I... I love-"

_BOOM!_, a small blast just exploded behind themselves out of the blue, making both of the marsupials to scream instinctively and Crash attempting to halt the motorcycle with his foot dragging violently through the cement road, right after he decreased the speed. Fortunately, none of them got seriously injured, but as soon as the orange bandicoot stopped in time before falling down the border of the curve, he saw Amelia on the ground around a meter away from him with a few scratches, in which one from her forehead was actually bleeding for a little.

"Amelia!" Crash cried as he didn't think twice before rushing over to her. "Amelia, are you hurt?"

A bit dizzy, she nevertheless replied. "I'm... I'm okay." She assured him after cleaning some amount of blood with her hand, and trying to lift up as he offered her a hand. "At least I'm glad I haven't broken a leg, though. What on Earth just happened moments ago?"

"No idea, but I'm sensing that Cortex is already anticipating us." He growled, but then he recalled something. "Ame, where's my bazooka?"

Clueless about it ever since the explosion occurred, the two bandicoots stared at all points of view in search of the weapon, until the black bandicootess found it laid near to the other border of the curve, slightly damaged.

"There it is." She walked towards it and picked it up, examining every detail carefully. "Thankfully, I don't find anything that seems to be damaged on the weapon. We better keep moving."

"Ditto." Crash nodded as he ran to the motorcycle. "We mustn't stay back for too long, or else-"

"Look out!" Amelia yelled, and the aussie bandicoot immediately diverted his head before a ball of fire could've burnt him. As it ceased on the cement ground with smoke getting free and gradually obstructing the visibility, it was already time to start hurrying.

"Amelia! Come on!" Crash urged as he already prepared to track off, and as the spy rushed herself to bring the bazooka before any other chemical trap could hit on her, she eventually sat on the only back seat.

"Go!" She ordered, and the motorcycle once again left at high speed as, soon, one of Dr. Cortex's planned machines went after them.


	13. The Final Attack

**Chapter 13**

In the meantime, at the castle, things couldn't have been anymore fortunate for Dr. Cortex and the malicious voodoo mask Uka Uka. Ever since the two evil geniuses heard the news that Crash Bandicoot got sentenced to death, or specifically in the electric chair, it meant party for the short-structured scientist as he resolved, though barely in the last hour, to invite the entire villain crew to celebrate the utter unexpected yet impracticable event inside his laboratory.

"You invited _all_ of us to here just because you recently found out that the orange rat got killed?" Doctor Nefarious Tropy was, almost naturally, the first one to speak about everything to give his usual sarcasms.

"How is that even possible?" Dingodile inquired, grabbing his flamethrower. "Unless somebody had finally the guts to bring out the butter and made himself into a toast!" He started to laugh like mad.

"Wow, the mutated bandicoot did _really_ die? That's... that's just a miracle!" N. Gin shouted as he stood astonished.

"I'm going to be frank, I still and _hardly_ believe that he died no more or less..." Pinstripe Potoroo remarked.

"Oh, really? So when's the funeral?" Koala Kong asked.

"Tiny is happy." That's all he could say as he just randomly smiled.

"He was _sentenced_ to death by the court, you morons!" Cortex yelled for repeating the same subject all over again. "Sentenced! It means it's official!"

"And how do you know that isn't a sort of trap?" Nefarious Tropy kept asking, folding his arms.

"Because a military pilot just informed me?" He persisted as he already was getting on his nerves.

"Even though I'm accustomed to never believe in Cortex's stupidites, he's in fact right this time." Uka Uka eventually intervened among everyone's conversations. "The marsupial brat is dead. Now, will you mutton-heads make your brains work for once and do something useful to already start your world domination?" He began to snap.

"Why such hurry, Uka Uka?" Cortex shrugged, still not leaving his happiness apart after knowing that his archenemy is eliminated on his way. "We have now _lots_ of time to do it, so why not spend this night in a different way?"

"How do you mean?" He frowned an eyebrow.

"Celebration, of course!" He clarified, now grinning out of pride. "This day shall not be forgotten amongst the greatest wicked, _flawless_ scientists ever to date in this little significant planet! Now, music please!" He ordered as he clapped his fingers.

As a disco ball somehow appeared right from the ceiling of the laboratory, Cortex momentarily took off his lab coat and put himself into 70's clothes, where seconds later he started dancing on his own style as the song "Le Freak" by Chic played on with multicoloured lights showing up everywhere around the room.

Terrified, all of his allies merely stood staring at him, some with their mouths wide open while the others were just standing with their eyes twitching at such terror.

"I'm not gonna sleep tonight." Pinstripe eventually avowed.

"Me... neither..." N. Gin agreed, not lasting long before he could faint to the floor.

"Oh my holy Butter..." Dingodile scowled.

"What the f*ck am I just watching?" Nefarious Tropy confessed out loud.

"Dear Lord, this is even worse than getting Rick Roll'd." Kong added as he stood disgusted as well.

"My EYES!" Tiny screamed in complete drama.

"Now _this_ is what I call a nightmare..." Uka Uka remarked, still not impressed at all.

* * *

><p>Carrying on the escape from the uncalled yet destructive machine, Crash and Amelia continued to ride through the main roadway until the scientist's castle as they attempted to divert from its constant attacks, all to prevent from crashing somewhere else into the darkness while the motorcycle's headlights still had enough power. Reminded to only use the bazooka at certain occasions, the black female bandicoot could barely wait to sight at long last the tower to eventually find the others to help them, but that hope was gradually fading away as the machine began to use bigger and effective traps towards its targets.<p>

"Amelia, I don't think I'll manage to get away from all of them until there!" The aussie bandicoot shouted as he tried his hardest to not lose focus on the drive.

"But are we still far from the castle?" She shouted in turn.

"I believe not, but this machine isn't helping us either!" He urged, and as soon as the machine suddenly began overpowering a yellow energy that made the spy realize that it'd wipe out both marsupials, she instantly loaded the bazooka and aimed at his round 'eye', which was the central zone that was controlling the machine's operation.

"Hasta la vista, _baby_." And she pulled the trigger when a shaped blue ball of energy got fired from the bazooka, infiltrating into the circular zone as a second later it led the machine to self-destruction. Though, the blow from the explosion ended up so intense that it even boosted the motorcycle forwards, and at this point Crash couldn't already handle the vehicle as it kept riding towards the border of another curve.

"We're gonna fall!" Amelia panicked, but the orange bandicoot thought quick and clear as he merely turned back to hold her hand while the other was still grasping a handlebar grip.

"Jump!" He ordered, and right before the black bandicootess could ever demand an explanation to do such sudden action, Crash grabbed her by the stomach to help her jump from the motorcycle and the two marsupials threw themselves out the roadway, which was actually from a high hill as the vehicle with two tires got also destroyed into pieces due to the strong impact against the border.

Falling into what seemed an abyss, Amelia couldn't help but scream whilst feeling the gravity pushing her body towards the ground as she knew that both would get crushed to death, this until in the last minute a redemption just showed up in time when a F-16 flew below them, catching them as the two bandicoots could land their feet onto the plane safe and sound.

"Rick!" The female spy smiled after recognizing his blonde hair through the glass of the cockpit.

"You guys need a flight?" He winked.

"How did you know that we were being attacked?" Crash inquired.

"We're being assaulted as well, I think Cortex has placed mechanical security guards all over the island." Rick briefed. "And I've decided to give a turn back to pick you guys up."

"Thanks for saving our lives, buddy." The aussie bandicoot exchanged a thumbs up, this until he soon perceived that Amelia was still holding Crash's arm without herself realizing.

"Oh, I, umm..." She immediately released it, discreetly blushing. "Never mind."

"You were scared, weren't you?" He gave a silly smile.

"No, no I wasn't." Insulted, she simply folded her arms, turning her face away from him in utter dishonesty. "I'm just not accustomed on doing... parachuting and all that crazy stuff you do, y'know." That was her response.

Crash raised an eyebrow, keeping his acquainted smile glued on his face. "How I love your sarcasm."

These words actually left the black female bandicoot puzzled, and although she felt strange in regards to them, the moment of break has eventually come to an end when the blonde bandicoot brought them both to reality.

"Come on guys, we're already closer to the castle than you think! Oh and, you better prepare your missiles before this goes wrong." He notified one last time.

* * *

><p>"Uka Uka, do something!" N. Gin begged as he was sat on the floor, now with dark rings under his eyes for watching so much inconvenience. "I can't take this anymore!"<p>

"Yeah, instead of working on his oh-so-great-called master plan, he's just celebrating by freaking dancing around the LAB!" Dr. Nefarious Tropy prostested since the music itself was already annoying him.

"Make him stop! Make him stop!" Tiny kept yelling as he was in the same condition as N. Gin, but now biting his own tail.

"I already tried to stop him, but he just doesn't listen!" Uka Uka shouted in despair as he also was becoming insane, this until some seconds later the villain crew abruptly heard an huge din coming somewhere from the castle.

"What was that noise?" Pinstripe asked, still with the cigarette in his mouth.

"I have no idea..." Dingodile shrugged. "Perhaps it's from Cortex's unbearable music?"

"No, it's not from that kind of noise." The powerful mask disagreed as he listened to it carefully. "I sense it's coming from outside to inside..."

"How so?" N. Gin hiccuped.

Before anyone in the laboratory could answer his tiny and, until that instant, petty question, another tremendous din was heard again when this time it made the tower they were staying inside shake almost identically as an earthquake, causing every single thing in the lab to fall and break against the floor as also the music got immediately interrupted.

"What now?" Cortex shouted in complete disbelief. "Can't scientists just have their own fun?"

"We are being attacked, you brainless idiot!" Uka Uka cried out.

"_What?_" He stood agape. "By who?"

_BANG!_, another missile just shot the base of the castle as the tower was already starting to ruin, making the other villains to take the automatic decision of leaving that place as soon as possible, as they barely began to flee from their tracks to direct themselves towards the airship that was right on the top of the tower.

"Wait! Where are you all going?" The evil voodoo mask yelled as the situation was getting uglier than he had thought. "Don't simply leave us here!"

"Yeah, the party isn't over yet!" Cortex protested in turn, but just in the second he finished his sentence, a familiar voice merely spoke out.

"I think I have given you enough time, didn't I, Cortex?" Crash smirked as he appeared behind their backs, right upon one of the F-16s' wing.

"You!" The short-structured scientist gritted his teeth in pure frustration. "I thought I have got rid of you already!"

"Looks like you've been fooled once again, Cortex." Amelia also smirked as she was standing next to the aussie bandicoot, holding the bazooka as she just reloaded it.

"So after all I _always_ knew that there was something wrong!" Uka Uka snapped into Cortex's ears with all of his rage.

"Of course, you guys apparently are far intelligent than we've expected, so we couldn't guess." Rock added.

"Now, what about a sweet _little_ revenge for giving us a bad name?" Rick laughed maliciously as he opened another button to start launching another missile, this time with Cortex and Uka Uka as targets.

"RUN!" One of them screamed as the scientist and the mask momentarily turned their backs to begin running for their lives, but almost like inevitably a potent impact just simply blowed them away enough to make Cortex pass through the window, getting painfully injured with broken glass as he ended up landing on Coco's biplane.

"Oh, hello." He gave a fake and foolish smile at them.

"Ugh, take this thing out of my plane!" Coco cried out in disgust. "Crunch, help me!"

"No problem, sis!" He smirked as he approached to Cortex and merely kicked him out.

"Mommy!" The scientist kept screaming in distress while falling down, but shortly after he became lucky again as he fell on Rick's plane where Crash and Amelia were. Furious than ever, Cortex closed his fists to be ready to finish off his worst archenemy and just threw himself onto him, where the human brain and the bandicoot began fighting each other without really knowing the consequences.

"If I can't hire _anybody_ to finish _you_, then it's me who will!" He shouted as he continued punching him, but then Amelia decided to take action as she kicked him out of Crash while he was unaware.

"Get your hands off him!" She growled.

"Why? Is it because I'm hurting your boyfriend?" Cortex sneered as he went back again to attack him, but this time the orange bandicoot resolved to throw him as he used his legs to push him away, though things started to get really twisted when he accidentally fell on the black bandicootess' breast and allowed her own temper to arise to its extreme.

"Say, you really have some nice airbags down here..." He remarked as he raised his eyebrows, but the female spy didn't like it one bit.

"You PERVERT!" Amelia yelled in complete anger as she mightily punched his teeth and broke most of them, and then kicked Cortex's groin with all of her strength enough to make tears appear in his eyes.

"My crystals!" He squealed, and again unaware of his surroundings, Crash did watch that uncalling scene and decided to eventually lift up to revenge himself, helping Amelia to get rid of the naughty scientist as he kicked his back while he wasn't looking.

"Sorry Cortex, but she's already taken!" He laughed out loud as he simply stood there watching him fall towards the island.

"Guys!" Coco called everybody by the intercom from her biplane. "We better move off! The castle is about to ruin!" She warned.

"May I finish?" Amelia asked with a smile on her face as she just picked up the bazooka.

"Sure, go ahead." Rick nodded. "We don't have anything left by now."

"This is for you, boy." She tossed it to Crash.

"What? You... you want me to shoot instead?" He stood admired.

"Why not?" She kept smiling. "The weapon's not even mine, so I think you should deserve more credit anyways." She said.

Exchanging a bright smile as well, Crash enjoyed the moment to relish his triumph and held his new bazooka, pointing at the center of the castle as he put a finger on the trigger and prepared to fire.

"Hasta la vista, Cortex!" And a wide amount of blue energy went off as it finished destroying the entire castle, taking place an enormous explosion whereas a few moments later the bandicoot crew began hearing and seeing fireworks being launched to the dark sky.

"Look! Fireworks!" Coco beamed as she aimed her fingernail at them.

"Man, I haven't seen none of those for quite a while!" Rock avowed.

"Thank you, you only care about Playboy magazines anyway." Rick rolled his eyes only to piss him off.

"Who knew such a stingy man even had fireworks saved in his own castle?" Crash pointed out.

"Me neither, but they sure are pretty amusing." Amelia added as, for the first time, she wittingly held his hand while the two mates were absently watching a memorable event.

Despite of the fireworks also touching the kind-hearted magic mask, Aku Aku knew himself that it was already time. "Let's go home, my children."

* * *

><p><em><span>NOTE<span>: One more chapter and the story's done! Yeah, I know, it's not that big as you guys have probably thought, but I hope it's still entertaining. Now, you readers better wait for the exciting final which is yet to come. ;)_


	14. Epilogue

**Final Chapter**

Defeated by the bandicoots, the evil unfortunate scientist ended up laying somewhere else in the immense obscurity of Cortex Island. A while after his only current base being utterly destroyed, Cortex eventually woke up from his fall as he felt the headaches and toothaches disorienting his mind even more, making him to groan out of pain until the moment he recalled everything that had just happened.

"Stupid bandicoot..." He began to snarl with all of his spite, despite that in reality he was talking to the puppet since there was nobody to listen to him. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID! _Arrgh!_ I cannot believe I just lost AGAIN! What did I ever, ever do _wrong_ to deserve THIS?!" He started pulling out his own black hair from the sides of his head. "I swear one day, Crash Bandicoot, you and your happy new crew of pathetic bandicoot friends will suffer what I just _did_! One day!"

Suddenly, an acquainted deep voice began to haunt the scientist, as soon as he also had the feeling that he almost forgot something... or someone.

"_Cortex_..." Uka Uka smirked as his face showed up through the darkness, startling him to death due to his voodoo powers glowing orange lights around his mask. "Remember the_deadline_?"

He swallowed; but a type of a slow motion swallow which made him already picture his soon doom that was about to come.

"Uh... oh..." He stuttered.

"CCOOOOORRTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXX!" And his shouting echoed throughout the island.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Crash and his friends eventually returned to N. Sanity Island after accomplishing their greatest victory. The arrival to their home sweet home couldn't have been anymore perfect than having a pleasant refreshing beach and a beautiful view all around its landscape, not to mention that they also have forgotten through all this time that it wouldn't last long for the sunrise to appear anytime soon. Though pleased themselves that they've got rid of Cortex for some good amount of time from now on, the bandicoots were actually becoming discouraged as they knew that Amelia and her brothers had now to leave them to return to their old home.<p>

With the two pilots' F-16s still parked near to Crash's house and ready to take off at any moment, the bandicoot family tried to enjoy to the fullest their last minutes before saying goodbye to their new friends. To them, the time well spent and the whole fun just passed too quickly, and for their major dismay they even were having difficulty to accept the fact that, perhaps, they were never going to see them again after a long while.

"We're going to miss you, guys." Coco spoke with a despondent tone, sighing to herself.

"Yeah, it was too short!" Crunch somewhat attempted to change their minds. "You sure you don't want to stay for... you know, a few days?"

"Let them go, Crunch." Aku Aku peacefully stated as he was joyless as well. "They also have their own lives."

"I'm sorry." Amelia apologized, her ears slightly dropping as she held the blonde bandicootess' hands. "I'd also like to stay here, but..." She discontinued after she sighed. "Thank you for being awesome and taking care of me, guys. I'll be sure to always remember you."

"Amelia..." She whispered.

As the twin brothers were despondent as well, Rock decided to walk towards Crunch and give him a present. "Hey, umm... I may not know much about you and all that stuff, but here, have my magazine. There's a lot of hot chicks in it."

Accepting his gift, the muscular burgundy bandicoot couldn't help but smile at his sympathy. "Thanks, dude."

"Goodbye, guys." Rick said as he approached to Coco and Aku Aku. "We're going to miss you all, as well... especially you, Coco." He avowed.

She slightly blushed. "R-really?"

"Yeah." He turned his face away as he was embarrassed. "But before I go, please, save my phone number in case you feel bored enough to ever call me." Rick eventually confessed as he removed from his pocket a piece of paper and handed it to her, but shortly after Coco didn't bother to give a small kiss on his cheek.

"I'd love to call you." She softly laughed.

This unexpectedly changed the blonde bandicoot's life for complete, since he already expected that she would never like him. "Heh heh, yeah..." He blushed so much that he almost turned himself into a tomato. "Umm sorry, I gotta go."

After almost everyone giving last farewells to each other, Crash and Amelia ended up being the only ones who still hadn't the courage to do so. As the sky was getting clearer and clearer, the aussie bandicoot and the female spy stood up with their feet on the sand as they merely gazed into each other's eyes, waiting for either one of both to eventually say something.

"So..." Crash began, exchanging an almost inexistent sigh between his words. "I see that you have to leave now, huh?"

"Yes." Amelia replied in a low voice, stopping looking at him as she wondered why she was feeling regretful.

"Well, in that case..." He tried to smile, although behind it was in reality a sad, shattered smile. "Good luck. Who knows, maybe we'll even meet each other again... life still goes on, right?"

That thought got stuck in her mind. "Yeah..." She smiled back. "Life still goes on."

Releasing his hands, Amelia gave one last deep breath as she closed her eyes for a moment, glancing straightly at the orange bandicoot until she'd eventually regain the forces to tell him.

"Goodbye, Crash."

Turning her back, the black bandicootess' last words would be forever marked inside the marsupial hero's heart as he watched her slowly walking away. None of both could tell if there would be another second chance to see each other face to face, yet, they knew that their fates wouldn't still break up their friendship and inseparable teamwork.

Right after Rick has been rearranging an extra seat for his sister in his F-16, Amelia kept stepping through the smooth sand until the plane as, even more irresistible, her thoughts in regards to Crash were becoming further and further hard to let them go. A kind of melancholic feeling which it was pushing her to the edge and constantly making her to think twice, though she also was stubborn enough to be strong and just accept her departure to Cortex Island.

Until, all at once, a Wumpa fruit just fell onto the ground, lying precisely next to the female spy's foot.

And then, by just glancing at it for a brief instant, memories started to dominate her mind; including that flashback of when she and Crash shared one of their moments with that delicious fruit.

_"Try a bite. I think you'll like it."_

_"It's really good."_

_"You like it?"_

_"Yeah. This can only be the most sweet fruit I've ever eaten in my life!"_

That voice. She just couldn't get it out of her head.

And the further she'd give one more single step towards the plane, the more she was leaving behind the only opportunity to ever stay with him.

"C'mon, Ame!" Rick called her, becoming a little impatient for awaiting too long. "The fuel isn't cheap nowadays, and you know it!"

But now, she didn't care about the fuel anymore; not getting into the F-16 for once, not even about her departure to her homeland. Decided, Amelia suddenly turned her back once again and this time began running in direction to the aussie bandicoot, calling out his name as an unique and joyous smile changed the course of her life.

"Crash!"

Surprised by hearing her voice again, and puzzled than ever, Crash turned his face back while he was walking towards the others when a glomp caught him without expecting, allowing Amelia to kiss him into the lips as soon as he also realized that she was the one he was looking for. Kissing romantically just in the time the sunrise eventually showed up over the ocean, the rest of the bandicoot crew stood, on the other hand, so open-eyed and amazed at such astonishing surprise that they became speechless from the beginning to end, as well with Rock's sunglasses falling to the ground and Crunch fainting backwards, which for the record it was totally unusual from him.

"Of course I'm staying." The black bandicootess finally confessed, still with the fortunate smile on her face. Unable to even say a word, Crash also smiled as he placed a hand on her cheek to gaze one more time into the spy's hazel eyes, this until Aku Aku resolved to appear between them.

"You guys just give me no choice." He gently laughed. "I have a feeling that this family is getting bigger."

"Wow, now that was... utterly unexpected?" Rock remarked.

"Rock, please remind me next time to bring a chainsaw and push that bandicoot out the bridge." Rick whispered into his brother's ear as he began having homicidal thoughts.

"Aww, that was so romantic!" Coco was, of course, the first and the only one to affirm otherwise.

"Why have I passed out?" Crunch eventually woke up, asking for not remembering anything that just happened at all.

"We're going to stay, Aku." Amelia said as she kept holding Crash's hand. "We want a new start from now on."

"Man," Rick simply folded his arms, upset. "And I wanted to go to Los Angeles..."

"I would've prefered California anyways." Rock contradicted him.

"Oh, pssh." He huffed, rolling his eyes. "Shut up."

"Well..." Aku Aku rethought, but upon seeing the two bandicoots so close and happy with each other, he ended up changing his mind as he smiled. "Why not? Of course you guys can stay."

"YES!" Coco squealed in happiness as she just hugged both Crash and Amelia. "I'm so happy to know you're going to stay! I knew it!"

"So that means we are too?" Rock inquired for a second before he saw Crunch moving pages of the magazine and smirking to himself in pleasure. "Indeed." He rushed until him to join his interesting search.

"Oh, well... this way..." Rick began to raise his eyebrows and smile as he approached to Coco, daring himself. "Will you give me another kiss?" He showed his lips.

"Not even dead." That was her response as she just walked away, frowning.

"Why, God? _Why?_" He talked to himself as an imaginary thunderstorm began to rain above his blonde hair.

"Hey, do you want a walk through the island to know it better?" Crash suggested as he felt bored on standing on the sand.

"Sure, it seems a nice idea." Amelia agreed and went with him, leaving all the others behind as the undaunted hero and the perspicacious spy held each other's hands, leisurely viewing the enormous scenery of N. Sanity Island.

**The End**

* * *

><p><em>And here was the ending to Upheaval, folks! Sorry if I really wrote this chapter into a cheesy, perhaps a bit over too dramatic chapter, but hey, the part I tend to suck the most is at finals, so please excuse me.<em>

_On a side note, if you're worried that there won't be another next Crash Bandicoot story from me, then don't be! I have this upcoming one I've been waiting to write for over a year, and it may come around July if I don't get busy, but let's hope in these Summer holidays I also don't let myself to be too lazy._

_Before I go, I want to thank everybody who've read and appreciated this fan fic as much as I did, since it's my very first one starting in the CB universe. And thank you for all your awesome reviews, as well! They're one of the reasons why I keep writing and sharing my stories with everyone. But now, it's time for me to get a little break._

_See you soon!_

_~BeatrixDiSanti_


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